Government charges are identical: I-129 fee, fraud prevention fee, applicable asylum program fee and optional premium processing, on the USCIS fee schedule, paid by the employer. Professional fees are often higher for L-1B because the specialized-knowledge evidence takes more work and requests for evidence are common.
Same fees, more drafting, more chance of a second round
USCIS charges the same for L-1A and L-1B: the Form I-129 filing fee, the fraud prevention and detection fee, an asylum program fee scaled to the employer's size, and premium processing if chosen, all on Form G-1055. The employer pays these. Where L-1B differs is in the professional effort: assembling proprietary documentation, drafting a technical narrative that a non-specialist adjudicator can follow, and responding to a request for evidence, which is frequent in this category.
A Shannon employer should ask any adviser whether the quote includes that response. Hypothetical example: a simulation firm budgeting for its training-systems specialist's transfer should add translation of French design documents, a consular visa fee if the specialist or a family member is not Canadian, and the extension petition after the initial period. Relocation, housing and any costs the customer's sector imposes, such as security processing, are business costs agreed in the transfer terms rather than immigration charges.