Current government charges, procedure and professional scope should be confirmed for the actual work required.
Do not treat the old invoice as a current quotation
Changed facts may require different preparation. Neither a prior payment nor a new fee guarantees the same outcome or a particular decision date.
Government charges depend on the route chosen: a port-of-entry application carries the applicable border processing charge, while an employer-filed Form I-129 carries the petition fee in the USCIS fee schedule. Renewal charges for each family member, expedited processing if the timeline is tight, and certified copies or translations where a supporting civil document is required. Government amounts change, so check the current USCIS fee schedule rather than relying on a figure quoted in an older article or by a colleague who applied several years ago. Budget the consular step as its own phase with its own line items: application charges, document preparation, travel to the post where it is not local, translation or credential evaluation, and legal assistance with the eligibility file. Where an evaluation is not required for the records and the procedure in question — something that turns on the credential relied on and where the awarding institution is located, not on preference — removing it is a clear saving.