Clarify the issue and the scope of required legal review before assuming the application and contribution are appropriate commitments.
Price the investigation separately
Ask what additional records or professional work may be needed and what that work can establish. Government processing charges and the gift remain separate from the cost of advice. No investigative fee can purchase a favourable admissibility conclusion, and a promised result should not replace a documented assessment of the facts.
Sequence the spending so the investigation comes first and can change what follows. Clarify the issue and the scope of the required legal review before treating the application and the payment as appropriate commitments, since the investigation may establish that the route is unsuitable and that finding is worth more than the fee producing it. Ask what additional records or professional work may be needed and what each can actually establish.
Government processing charges and the gift to the Department of Commerce remain separate from the cost of advice. No investigative fee purchases a favourable admissibility conclusion, and a promised result should never displace a documented assessment of the facts. Revisit the budget once the review has reported.
Ask which later costs depend on what the investigation finds, and note them as contingent.