We understand that, as a foreign national looking to live and work legally in the U.S., you want to take all of the necessary measures to get your E-2 or L-1A visa approved. This is a lengthy and exhausting process, and oftentimes, things can get overlooked or rushed. So, after hiring a knowledgeable attorney to submit your visa petition, is there anything you can do to raise your chances of success?
You bet there is! As part of your visa petition, your legal counsel will need a detailed, well-grounded document called an immigration business plan or visa business plan. This important document will be the only opportunity, prior to your face-to-face interview, for you to explain to the immigration adjudication officer your business model and future intentions in the U.S. Therefore, it is crucial that this document not only adheres to regulations and adjudication expectations but also follows certain non-disclosed rules that can be the difference between having your petition approved or denied.
What Immigration Officers Dislike
After having interacted with many immigration officers over 11+years, we have learned a thing or two about what they want to see in a business plan. Equally important, we have learned what to avoid and even some of the specific things that make all immigration officers’ blood boil. Below, we have laid out the top 3 things that exasperate adjudication officers when reviewing an immigration business plan.
Top 3 Things That Frustrate Them:
- Receiving a business plan that they don’t understand. Adjudication officers have a limited time to review each case that they are assigned. If the business plan does not make sense, relies too heavily on technical jargon, or is simply not easy to understand, the adjudication officer will not be happy.
- Receiving generic content. Adjudication officers dislike seeing generic content. In fact, many of the latest RFEs show statements that strongly ask applicants to stay away from using “generic business plans downloaded from the internet.”
- Identifying inconsistencies. Adjudicators that are consistently finding conflicting messages throughout the business plan will not take the investor or his/her venture seriously. Many times, inconsistencies will prompt an RFE, or, worse yet, may even result in an upfront denial. Furthermore, inconsistencies in a business plan will multiply the work adjudicators have to perform for the case. And who wants one’s workload to be increased?
The decision of your visa is in hands of the adjudication officer reviewing your case. Make sure your visa business plan makes it easy for him or her to say, “Your visa is approved.”
About Visa Business Plans
Visa Business Plans is led by Marco Scanu, a certified coach from the University of Miami with a globally-based practice coaching Fortune 1000 company executives, entrepreneurs, as well as professionals in 4 different continents. Mr. Scanu advises clients on turnaround strategies and crisis management.
Mr. Scanu received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Cum Laude) from the University of Florida and an MBA in Management from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. Mr. Scanu was also a Visiting Scholar at Michigan State University under the prestigious H. Humphrey Fellowship (Fulbright program) with a focus on Entrepreneurship, Venture Capital and high-growth enterprises.
At present, Mr. Scanu is the managing partner and CEO at Visa Business Plans, a Miami-based boutique consulting firm providing attorneys and investors with business planning services in the areas of immigration and SBA loans.
