Identify which company records and explanatory work are genuinely needed for this claim, then separate that preparation and legal review from government filing fees, optional premium processing, and any family filings.
Avoid paying for a narrative the records do not support
Confirm who inside the company can actually verify the claimed knowledge and the proposed assignment before commissioning an extensive writeup. Clarify whether a quoted fee includes handling confidential evidence or responding to a request for evidence. No amount of additional drafting substitutes for missing underlying records.
Records held by an affiliate abroad often sit with a payroll provider or an archive rather than with the current human resources team, and translation may be needed. Track vendor quotes, record retrieval, translations, secure copying, courier costs, official filing charges, and any premium-processing decision independently. Assembling proprietary documentation, obtaining internal approval to disclose it and drafting a technically accurate description takes engineering time as well as legal time. The real costs are extraction and clearance of records from a controlled system and the quality lead's time in explaining internal practice; drafting is a smaller share than most people expect.