We see this logic often in NIW cases.
The applicant works in cybersecurity, healthcare, artificial intelligence, renewable energy, or another field that is clearly important to the United States. Government reports discuss the need for advancement in the industry, articles describe shortages or challenges, and plenty of statistics show why the field matters.
So it seems reasonable to conclude: if my work is in an important field, my proposed endeavor must be nationally important too.
That is where the analysis can get more complicated.
Under the NIW framework, USCIS looks at the specific endeavor the applicant proposes to undertake and its potential prospective impact. The fact that an industry or profession is important does not, by itself, establish that a particular proposed endeavor has national importance.
And this distinction is creating real confusion for applicants.
In recent NIW discussions online, applicants in fields including cybersecurity, AI, energy, and engineering have shared RFEs where USCIS accepted that their work had substantial merit but questioned whether their specific proposed endeavor would have sufficiently broad impact.
Consider an entrepreneur who wants to launch a cybersecurity consulting company.
It would be relatively easy to find evidence explaining why cybersecurity matters to the United States. But that doesn’t yet tell us what this particular entrepreneur plans to do.
Who will the company serve? What cybersecurity problem will it address? How will its services be delivered? What makes the proposed work significant beyond providing a useful service to a handful of clients? And, most importantly, what is the potential impact of the endeavor the applicant is actually proposing?
Those are very different questions.
This is why, at Visa Business Plans, we spend so much time understanding the proposed endeavor before we start developing the plan.
For an entrepreneurial NIW, we need to understand the business itself, but we also need to understand the larger argument the business plan is supposed to support.
Suppose an applicant plans to establish a healthcare consulting company.
Writing pages about the importance of the U.S. healthcare industry isn’t enough. We need to be much more specific about what the applicant intends to do in healthcare and how that work is expected to create an impact beyond simply operating a successful consulting business.
Once we understand that, the rest of the plan can begin supporting the endeavor.
The market analysis can provide context. The operating strategy can explain how the applicant intends to execute the proposed work. Financial projections can help demonstrate the expected scale of the endeavor, while staffing, customers, partnerships, or other elements may help explain how its impact could develop over time.
The applicant’s background matters too, but for a different reason.
A strong résumé, advanced degrees, and years of experience can help show why someone may be well positioned to carry out a proposed endeavor. They don’t automatically establish the national importance of the endeavor itself. USCIS treats those as distinct parts of the NIW analysis.
That distinction is easy to lose when someone has spent an entire career in an impressive field.
At Visa Business Plans, we work alongside the immigration attorney so that the business plan supports the legal strategy rather than becoming a separate document telling its own story.
For an NIW business plan, that means we aren’t simply trying to prove that the applicant has a good business idea.
We need to understand what the proposed endeavor actually is and make sure the business plan helps explain how it will be carried out and what its potential impact could be.
Cybersecurity can be nationally important.
Healthcare can be nationally important.
Artificial intelligence can be nationally important.
But the government isn’t only asking whether the field matters.
It wants to understand why your proposed endeavor within that field matters.
Contact us today to get startedThe 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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