Government charges follow the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055, if the employer files Form I-129, or the charges collected at the port of entry for a direct application. Separate from those, budget for transcripts, diploma replacements, any translation and the time spent obtaining employment letters from former employers.
Spend on evidence before spending on filings
The costs that matter in an experience-based file are not the government ones. They are the certified copies of a diploma issued years ago, the transcript that shows the subject of study, and the letters from two or three former employers, one of whom may have sold the business or retired. Start those requests early, because a former owner who has moved away can take weeks to reach and the letter is worth more than any paid evaluation.
Check the current fee schedule rather than a figure quoted by a colleague, since the amounts are revised. Decide with the employer which route it prefers and who pays for what: an advance petition puts the filing fee on the company, while a port-of-entry application puts a smaller charge on the applicant on the day of travel. Hypothetical example: a wildlife biologist must obtain archived transcripts from a college that has merged twice.
Her real cost risk is document recovery, not the border fee. Start a ledger that separates filing charges, certified records, translations, travel, licensing, and any employer-paid expense. The first review should identify which document has the longest lead time and whether an advance petition is commercially worthwhile.
Problems arise when an applicant books travel before discovering that the credential issuer needs weeks to respond or that a state licence has its own fee and process.