(Author: Kevin Wright)
THE BUSINESS PLAN REQUIREMENT FOR THE EB-5 APPLICATION
You have to have a business plan-absolutely- here’s why:
A summary of the Regional Center requirements follow:
A Regional Center is defined as any economic unit, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation, and increased domestic capital investment. The organizers of a regional center seeking the regional center designation from USCIS must submit a proposal showing:
How the regional center plans to focus on a geographical region within the U.S., and must explain how the regional center will achieve the required economic growth within this regional area
That the regional center’s business plan can be relied upon as a viable business model grounded in reasonable and credible estimates and assumptions for market conditions, project costs, and activity timelines
How in verifiable detail (using economic models in some instances) jobs will be created directly or indirectly through capital investments made in accordance with the regional center’s business plan
The amount and source of capital committed to the project and the promotional efforts made and planned for the business project.
As noted above, an economic analysis, proof of source of funds and a comprehensive business plan are the three “must have” requirements the USCIS will review in making the Regional Center designation decision.
Business plans are formally written and carefully executed documents that represent the facts, strategic direction, business definitions, intent and integrity that entrepreneurs and executive managers utilize in the creation of businesses. Professional plans require an external business professional to assess complex information, provide relevant additional research, and craft both information and research into an organized, formal proposal that speaks directly to its audience.
In the case of business plans used in conjunction with immigrant-investor visas, the primary audience for whom the plan is written is the Department of Homeland Security/United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (DHS)/USCIS. Therefore, the business plan that Wright Johnson prepares not only contain standard criteria, such as analysis of strategic directions, business development and implementation details and management expertise and experience, but also satisfies DHS/USCIS standards. In all cases, the plans written by Wright Johnson are unique to each client while maintaining the vital categorical information that the DHS/CIS requires.
In a memorandum dated June 17, 2009, Donald Neufeld, the Acting Associate Director for Domestic Operations, has provided some guidance on the employment-based fifth preference (EB-5) green card category reserved for entrepreneurs willing to invest substantial capital into the U.S. and create at least 10 full-time jobs.
The Neufeld Memorandum directs the adjudicators that a specific business plan be required as part of each EB-5 application which business plan must provide accounting of the required number of jobs created within the two-year period of conditional residency.
The June 17 memo fails to provide guidance on how detailed a business plan must be. However, guidance can be found in the following:
In 1998 the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO) set forth EB-5 business plan requirements in Matter of Ho. According to that decision, as part of an I-526 petition an EB-5 investor must submit a comprehensive business plan showing:
the need for at least 10 qualifying employees, and when the employees will be hired
The plan should include a description of the business and the business’ objectives
a market analysis including names of competing businesses and their relative strengths and weaknesses
a comparison of the competition’s products and pricing structures
a description of the target market and prospective customers
a description of any manufacturing or production processes, materials required and supply sources
details of any contracts executed
marketing strategy including pricing, advertising, and servicing
organizational structure
sales, cost and income projections and details of the basis therefore
In addition, specifically with respect to employment, the business plan must set forth the company’s personnel experience, staffing requirements, job descriptions for all positions, and a timetable for hiring.
If you are planning to establish your own EB-5 Regional Center, contact us today.
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