EB5 Direct Business Plans
Business plans are documents that cover a wide range of audiences, goals, and objectives, and contain a level of detail. When it comes to drafting a business plan for an EB-5 visa application, the document has a very specific objective: to convince the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that your business is good enough to deserve residency status and a short path to U.S. citizenship. This is not a simple or trivial exercise, but one that requires detailed planning and execution to cover all the questions that the USCIS agent may have.
In 1998, the Administrative Appeals Office issued a precedent decision known as Matter of Ho that set forth the requirements of an EB-5 compliant business plan. This now serves as the minimal guiding document to a strong EB-5 compliant business plan.
According to Matter of Ho, as part of an I-526 petition an EB-5 investor must submit a comprehensive business plan that contains the following:
- Provides a clear and concise executive summary of the business, objectives, and operations. If this is done well, the immigration officer will feel confident that the report will contain all the required information.
- Shows the amount of money invested as well as the source of those funds. That invested capital should be “at risk” in the enterprise.
- Provides a compelling (and preferably external) market and/or industry analysis that include a description of the target market and possible customers.
- Includes a comparison with competing businesses – their strengths, weaknesses, products, and pricing (commonly called a SWOT analysis)
- Explain a sales and marketing strategy for the business that leverages what is known about the market, industry, and competitors. Show the strategy how the business will reach its projected targets.
- Explains, in a manner easily understood to those outside the industry (immigration authorities), “how” the business operates. The EB-5 business plan should describe the manufacturing, production, service, or another value-adding process that is to be monetized. This bridges the gap between execution and cost.
- Shows strategic alliances, joint ventures, and any critical supply structure (this should include some detail of any contracts in place)
- Presents financial figures in a transparent way and shows detailed projections of sales, cost, and income. Common practice is to have a 5-year forecast for Profit & Loss, Cash Flow, and Balance Sheets.
- Illustrates the business’s organizational structure, a cost of employment, and the experience of key personnel and responsibilities of various job roles. Since it is understood that the business will evolve over the next 5 years (and should at least create 10 jobs within 21 months), a timetable for hiring is also important.
- Demonstrates credibility and cites outside sources were used.
With this in mind, when drafting a business plan, we need to keep in mind that the document not only needs to be complete, credible, feasible, and substantiated with research, it needs to be flexible and general enough to allow for some unavoidable deviations from the plan.
EB-5 Visa Business Plan Services
Business Plan Fee: TBD
Size: 45-75 pages.
First Draft Turnaround: 5-7 Business days.
EB-5 Visa Business Plan Content:
- Executive Summary
- Company Summary
- Job Descriptions
- Organizational Chart
- Market and Industry Analysis
- Competition & Buying Patterns
- Internet Plan & Marketing Strategy
- Projected 5 Year Sales Forecast
- Projected 5 Year Profit & Loss Statement
- Projected 5 Year Cash Flow Forecast
- Projected 5 Year Balance Sheet
EB-5 Visa Business Plan
You receive an initial Questionaire to complete
We review your Information and ask some additional questions
We write the business plan and send you the first draft
We connect with your lawyer to include their feedback
We finalize the plan
You receive an initial Questionaire to complete
We review your Information and ask some additional questions
We write the business plan and send you the first draft
We connect with your lawyer to include their feedback
We finalize the plan
