For years, many immigration applicants have filed their cases with a certain assumption in the back of their minds: if USCIS needs something else, they will ask for it.
Maybe a document is missing. Maybe the evidence is not strong enough in one area. Maybe the officer wants more information about the business. In many cases, USCIS would issue a Request for Evidence, commonly known as an RFE, giving the applicant an opportunity to address the issue before a final decision was made.
As of August 5, 2026, relying on that second opportunity has become much riskier.
USCIS has changed its policy on Requests for Evidence and Notices of Intent to Deny. Under the new guidance, officers have greater discretion to deny certain applications and petitions without first issuing an RFE or NOID when required initial evidence is missing or the evidence submitted does not establish eligibility.
In simple terms, you should prepare your case as though you may not get another opportunity to fix it.
What actually changed?
The applicant has always had the burden of proving that he or she qualifies for the immigration benefit being requested. That part is not new.
What changed is how USCIS officers are instructed to handle cases when the initial filing falls short.
Under the 2021 policy, USCIS generally instructed officers to issue an RFE or NOID when additional evidence could potentially establish eligibility. The August 2026 policy gives officers greater discretion to make a decision based on the record in front of them without first giving the applicant an opportunity to supplement it.
That does not mean USCIS will stop issuing RFEs. It also does not mean that every weakness or missing document will automatically result in a denial.
It means you can no longer assume an RFE will give you a second chance.
For business immigration cases, that distinction can be very important.
Why this matters for E-2 investors
There is an important technical distinction here. E-2 visas filed directly through a U.S. consulate are adjudicated by the Department of State, not USCIS. This USCIS policy applies to filings adjudicated by USCIS, including E-2 change or extension of status requests filed in the United States.
Still, the lesson behind the policy is relevant to anyone preparing a business immigration case: the initial submission needs to tell a complete, credible, and well-supported story.
Take an E-2 extension as an example.
When someone first starts an E-2 business, much of the case may be based on reasonable projections. The business is new, so there may be limited operating history to analyze.
Years later, the situation is very different.
Now there are tax returns, financial statements, payroll records, employees, bank statements, and actual operating results. The projections in the original business plan are no longer the focus. Instead, they are measured against what actually happened in the business.
At that point, the question is no longer simply, “What does this business plan to do?”
It becomes, “What has this business actually done?”
As a result, in the past, an updated business plan was not always viewed as essential unless there was a material change in operations or a clear inconsistency between projections and performance. However, the current environment has shifted in two important ways.
First, the USCIS policy change has increased the importance of submitting a complete and persuasive initial record. Second, as has been widely discussed at recent AILA conferences, practitioners have observed a noticeable adjudication trend: officers increasingly request updated business plans even when the business is profitable and stable.
The underlying reasoning is consistent. Past performance is important, but it does not eliminate the need to evaluate future viability.
As a result, officers are placing greater emphasis on understanding not only how the business has performed to date, but also how it will continue to perform going forward. They want to see updated projections, current hiring plans, and a clear explanation of how the business intends to sustain or grow its operations. In other words, they are less willing to rely solely on historical data when making forward-looking determinations.
This is where strategy becomes critical for E-2 renewals and extensions filed with USCIS.
Submitting an updated business plan is no longer just a “nice to have” or something reserved for cases with major changes. It is increasingly becoming a strategic tool to bridge the gap between past performance and future intent.
A well-prepared updated business plan allows the applicant to do two things at once:
First, it aligns the current financial reality of the business with the immigration requirements being evaluated today.
Second, it proactively addresses the forward-looking concerns officers are increasingly focused on, especially in light of both the new USCIS policy environment and the adjudication trends discussed in recent AILA forums.
In practical terms, the updated business plan becomes part of a broader strategy to present a complete, self-contained record. One that does not rely on the assumption that an officer will request clarification later, but instead anticipates the questions an officer is likely to ask and answers them upfront.
We try to find the problems before the immigration officer does
This is something I explain to clients all the time.
When we work on an immigration business plan, our job is not simply to take the information we receive and put it into a nicely formatted document.
We look at the project from the other side of the desk.
What could concern the immigration officer?
Are the financial projections reasonable based on this particular business and industry?
Does the staffing plan make sense?
Does the amount invested match what the business is proposing to accomplish?
For an existing business, do the tax returns and financial statements support the story being presented?
Has the company created the jobs it originally expected to create? If it has not, is there a reasonable explanation?
Do the numbers in the business plan agree with the supporting documents?
Is there something in the financials that could be misunderstood without additional explanation?
These are the questions we ask while we are preparing the project. We would much rather identify a weakness before the case is filed than have an immigration officer identify it afterward.
Sometimes we find something that concerns us. When that happens, we don’t ignore it and hope the officer won’t notice.
We bring it to the attorney’s attention.
We explain what we are seeing, why we think it could become an issue and, when appropriate, propose ways the business plan or supporting documentation can address it. The attorney can then determine how that information fits within the legal strategy for the case.
That back-and-forth is an important part of the process.
We are not immigration attorneys, and we don’t provide legal advice. But after working on thousands of immigration business plans, we know that numbers, operations, and immigration strategy cannot live in separate worlds. The business plan has to support the case the attorney is presenting.
A business plan should not create more questions than it answers
This is also why I would be particularly careful right now with generic business plans, templates, and plans generated primarily through artificial intelligence.
AI can write beautifully. It can create tables, describe an industry, and produce financial projections that look impressive.
But looking impressive is not the same as making sense.
A business immigration plan needs someone to ask why.
Why is the company hiring six people instead of three?
Why should revenue increase 40 percent next year?
Why is payroll decreasing while the company says it is expanding?
Why does the tax return show one thing while the business plan appears to say something different?
Why did the company originally project ten employees but currently has four?
There may be perfectly reasonable explanations for all of these things. What matters is identifying the questions before the case is submitted and making sure the overall story makes sense.
A generic plan can easily miss these issues. Its purpose is often to take the information provided and turn it into a document. Our approach is different. We analyze the information, question it when something doesn’t make sense and work with the attorney when we see something that could potentially become a problem.
Doing it right the first time matters more now
We have always approached immigration business plans with the philosophy that the best time to solve a problem is before the case is filed.
The August 5 USCIS policy makes that philosophy even more important.
An RFE should never be part of the strategy.
Of course, even a very well-prepared case can receive one. Immigration officers have discretion, every case is different, and no attorney or business plan company can guarantee an approval.
But there is a big difference between receiving an RFE because an officer wants clarification and receiving one because something important was overlooked in the original filing.
Now there is something else to consider: the RFE you were expecting may never come. The officer may make a decision based on what was submitted.
For E-2 investors filing a change or extension of status with USCIS, the strategy increasingly needs to account for both the new policy environment and the adjudication trends being observed in practice. That means not only submitting a strong initial record, but also proactively including an updated business plan that clearly explains current performance and future projections in a way that anticipates officer scrutiny.
In other words, the updated business plan is no longer just a renewal document. It is part of a broader risk-management strategy designed to address how cases are actually being reviewed today.
For E-2 investors and business immigration applicants more broadly, the message is simple.
Don’t prepare a case assuming you will have an opportunity to explain it later.
Work with an experienced immigration attorney. Make sure the business plan is specific to your business and supports the immigration strategy. Look carefully at the financials and supporting evidence. Identify inconsistencies and ask the difficult questions before the case is filed.
Our philosophy has always been to do as much of that work as possible upfront. We want to find the potential problems, discuss them with the attorney and determine how they can be addressed before the case reaches an immigration officer.
The goal is to submit the strongest, most complete and most consistent case you can the first time.
Under USCIS’s new policy, and in light of current adjudication trends, that first submission matters more than ever.
Contact us today to get started
The information provided in this blog is intended solely for informational purposes. While we strive to offer accurate and up-to-date content, it should not be considered legal advice. Immigration laws and regulations are subject to change, and individual circumstances can vary widely. For personalized guidance and legal advice regarding your specific immigration situation, we strongly recommend consulting with a qualified immigration attorney who can provide you with tailored assistance and ensure compliance with current laws and regulations.
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 four 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 U.S. and Canadian immigration, SBA loans, and others.
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