Costs include the I-129 filing fee, the fraud prevention and detection fee, any asylum program fee that applies to the petitioner, optional premium processing, and professional fees; check current amounts in the USCIS fee schedule (G-1055). The petitioner is responsible for the petition; recovery arrangements should be reviewed with employment counsel.
Budget from the fee schedule, not from memory
Read the fee schedule on the day the budget is prepared, because petition fees, the fraud prevention fee and the asylum program fee each apply differently depending on the petitioner's size and status, and premium processing is optional. Add professional fees for preparing the petition, the cost of obtaining certified corporate documents, and translation if any record is in another language. Family members have their own application or admission costs, and the spouse's employment authorization, while incident to status, may involve document fees if a separate card is requested.
Whether an employer can require an employee to repay immigration costs is an employment-law question that varies by jurisdiction; do not build a repayment clause into the offer without advice. Keep a separate line for relocation and housing so a modest filing estimate is not mistaken for the cost of the move.