Very little in fees and a great deal in everything else. The government charges for a port-of-entry application are collected by CBP and petition fees appear in the USCIS fee schedule, Form G-1055, but a refusal recorded against a name is answered for in every later application, and the remedial work usually costs more than the original preparation.
The expensive part of a refusal is never the fee
A Canadian citizen applying in person pays a modest amount at the counter, and an employer filing Form I-129 pays the amount shown in the fee schedule, plus premium processing where speed is worth buying. Those figures move periodically, so the schedule itself is the only reliable source for them. What a refusal adds sits outside any schedule.
The engagement letter has to be rewritten, this time by somebody who understands why the first one failed. The contracting structure may have to be rebuilt, which involves the American firm's own lawyers and their timetable. Travel to the port is wasted, and a second trip has to be arranged.
Most significantly, the refusal becomes part of Damien's record, so a later application is examined against it and the explanation has to be persuasive rather than merely true. Spending on advice before the first attempt is cheaper than any of that.
- USCIS: TN NAFTA Professionals
- U.S. Department of State: USMCA professional workers
- Department of State: 9 FAM 402.17, TN and TD guidance
- eCFR: 8 CFR 214.6, Citizens of Canada or Mexico seeking temporary entry as business persons
- USTR: Agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada
- USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule