It is sensible to identify that possible future work in the planning assumptions, without pretending the exact procedure or fee is already known. The next step depends on the actual status, employer, duties and current requirements. A contract renewal and an immigration extension are different events.
Define the initial professional scope
Confirm what the current engagement covers and what would require a new assessment. Keep government charges, professional services and travel costs distinct. An estimate for a possible renewal should not be presented as a prepaid guarantee of continued eligibility.
Split the budget into four buckets, because they behave differently. Government charges come first: a Canadian citizen who requests the classification at a port of entry or preclearance pays the fee set for that application, while an employer that files Form I-129 instead pays the petition fee, and any premium processing it elects is charged separately. Confirm the USCIS amounts against the current fee schedule, Form G-1055, and confirm the port-of-entry or preclearance charge against current U.S. Customs and Border Protection information, since that charge is collected by CBP and does not appear on the USCIS schedule. Take neither from a figure quoted in an older thread — fees change, and a stale number is a planning error rather than a saving.
Qualification costs are the second bucket and fall almost entirely before any filing: a foreign-credential evaluation where the degree was earned outside North America, licensing or registration fees where the appendix entry requires a licence, and the cost of obtaining transcripts and experience letters. Professional fees are the third — the adviser who assembles the file and, where the position sits awkwardly against the listed occupations, the opinion that decides whether the route works at all. Travel, relocation and the household’s own arrangements are the fourth.
Who pays which bucket is a term of the offer rather than a rule of the category, so put it in writing. What no budget buys is eligibility: citizenship of Canada or Mexico, a listed profession, its credential and the absence of self-employment through a company the applicant controls are either present or they are not.
Hypothetical example: a landscape hydrologist discovers a state licence is required for part of the proposed work. The licensing fee and timeline, not the filing fee, then dominate the cost of the plan.