The United States government expects to see a well-drafted business plan as support for applications in both the E Treaty Visa category and the EB5 Immigrant Entrepreneur category. Additionally, USCIS often kicks back a request for a feasibility study in L1 “New Office” petitions, which is something that is normally included in a well-drafted business plan. Hence, it stands to reason that inclusion of a well-drafted business plan is essential as supporting documentation in an L1 “New Office” Petition.

As evidence of the critical importance of a well-drafted plan is the fact that the United States government frequently denies L1 visa, E2 visa and EB5 visa petitions and applications due to their lack of a plan that is both comprehensive and credible.

Business plans that are not comprehensive and are more in the nature of a summary or overview of the business are generally not acceptable for L1 visa, E2 visa, and EB5 visa purposes. Instead, in any one given case the United States government expects to receive and review a quality product that, at minimum:

a.) Fully describes the enterprise, its products and services;

b.) Analyzes the market in detail, including potential customers and competition;

c.) Outlines a marketing strategy;

d.) Projects sales, costs, and income over a period of 5 years, showing the basis for these projections; and

e.) Presents complete details regarding the enterprises organizational structure, including complete job descriptions and a staffing timetable.

In short, the United States government expects to see a business plan that is as comprehensive as one that would be presented to a bank for purposes of seeking funding. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that one seek the services of a professional who is familiar with the relevant immigration regulations to draft ones plan if one hopes to stand a strong chance at success in an L1 visa, E2 visa or EB5 visa petition or application.

When selecting the right firm to draft a visa-specific business plan, a company or investor should seek out a firm that possesses both experience in the writing of bespoke business plans as well as the appropriate legal expertise to tailor the plan to the specific requirements of the L1 visa, E2 visa or EB5 visa categories.

To ensure that all the required elements of a well-drafted business plan will be covered to the satisfaction of the United States government, the company or investor should satisfy themselves that all of the following services will be covered by the fee that they will be paying for the business plan writing service:

a.) Setup of business plan according to target visa category;

b.) Gathering of information and documentation regarding company ownership, objectives and mission;

c.) Working with business owner to determine concise statement regarding company’s success formula;

d.) Work out with owner the visa-appropriate management and staffing plan (i.e., executive/management mix for L1 visa; marginality avoidance for E2 visa; creation of 10 full-time positions over a 2-year period for EB5 visa;

e.) Draft an easy to read service summary;

f.) Collaborate with client to create feasibility study, which covers target market, customer/client potentiality in geographical area (with growth projections), and competition analysis;

g.) Gather financial information to draft financial plan and Tables, including Start-up Summary (as applicable), Sales Forecast, Operating Expenses, and 5-year Projections.

Once the business plan has been developed into its penultimate draft, it should undergo a final review by the responsible immigration attorney to secure an opinion as to the viability of the plan, from a financial perspective. (Obviously, if the responsible immigration attorney is drafting the business plan, his or her opinion will be rendered simultaneously with the creation of the penultimate draft.) Once the responsible immigration attorney has rendered his opinion that the plan is fiscally viable, the plan can be finalized and signed off for inclusion in the visa application package.

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

An L-2 non-immigrant visa is a dependent visa category available for the immediate family members, i.e., spouse and unmarried children (under the age of 21) of L-1 visa holders who wish to enter the U.S.

L-2 visa holders can live in the United States for the entire length of time authorized in their spouse’s L-1 visa. L-2 visa holders are responsible to extend L-2 status if their spouse’s L-1 visa has expired, and they intend to continually live in the United States with their spouse. You may travel in and out of the U.S. on L-2 visa as long as you maintain valid status, and the principal L visa holder maintains his or her status. You may attend school in the U.S. while on L-2 status.

Under U.S. immigration law, L-2 visa holders can apply for work authorization upon entering the United States. L-2 spouse of an L-1 visa holder can obtain a general Employment Authorization. The employment authorization must be applied separately by the L-2 spouse. The L-2 child is not permitted to work.

To extend your stay in the United States, you should file Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Non-immigrant Status, with USCIS before your visa expires. If you are unsure of your current departure date, check the date on Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, to find out how long you are allowed to stay in the country. USCIS recommend that you apply to extend your stay at least 45 days before your authorized stay expires, but the USCIS Service Center must receive your Form I-539 application by the day your authorized stay expires.

If an employer files a Form I-129 to extend the status of L-1 visa holder, and the L-2 spouse and/or unmarried children under age 21 also want to extend L-2 status, they will need to file a Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Non-immigrant Status. While the dependents of L-1 cannot be included on Form I-129 they can all be included on one Form I-539 to extend L-2 status.

After you have submitted Form I-539 application to extend L-2 status, USCIS will mail you a receipt. This receipt will provide a number assigned to track your Form I-539 application, as well as the projected processing time. An extension of stay is not automatic. USCIS will look at your situation, your status, the reasons you want to extend L-2 status, and will decide whether to grant your Form I-539 application.

If your application is received by USCIS before your status expires, and if you have not violated the terms of your status and meet the basic eligibility requirements, you may continue your previously approved activities in the United States (including previously authorized work) for a maximum period of 240 days, or until a decision is made by USCIS on your application or the reason for your requested extension has been accomplished.

If your Form I-539 application for an extension is approved, you will be issued a replacement I-94 with a new departure date

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

As with the H1B visa and L1 visa, petitions and forms have to filed and approved at the USCIS and Department of Labor and with the E3 visa at the Department of Labor only, so a lot of the vetting has already been done. Then of course employers if they are planning to go through the time, expense and hassle of hiring a foreigner, they themselves are going to make sure most of the time, that the employer is a legitimate candidate with relevant experience and qualifications.

So going to the US Consulate interview, while in many ways seeming like a big deal to the candidate because of the formality, seriousness and security of the process, ends up being just a routine with at the most and most a few hours wasted in the room waiting. Therefore actually getting the E3 visa or H1B visa stamp in the passport is the last step in the process before flying to the US to begin their new career.

However for some unfortunate candidates it is not so simple and the process at the US consulate takes a lot longer under the title of “administrative processing” under condition 221(g).

For a few of this group it is partly or fully their own fault as they have forgotten documents they were supposed to bring or to pay relevant fees. Usually in these instances, it just requires another US consulate visa appointment or even a quick dash out to get things and pay the relevant costs, returning the same day to continue the interview albeit with going to back of the queue.

Also in some instance people have lied about their experience, qualifications and/or circumstances and/or their employer has to some degree and this is noticed or suspected by the US conular officer. In these cases the administrative processing that follows will ultimately result in a visa denial or occasionally and instant denial at the US consulate.

(To Note visa like the F1 visa or J1 visa tend not to have this issue. Of course you can still be denied for these visas, but it tends to be instant at the US consulate as the USCIS is generally not involved in these petitions)

However in most cases the “administrative processing” or condition 221(g) is a lot more grey and is often as a result of a very particular case officer hesitation due to some aspect of the application. These can include;

1. Unsure about the company as never sponsored a foreigner before and/or is a smaller organization or possibly operates in an industry field not usually associated with the professional work visa like E3, H1B and L1
2. Unsure about the job offer as it sounds like a non-professional or specialty role which may not require a bachelors degree not usually associated with the E3 visa, H1B visa or L1 visa
3. Unsure about the candidate as either their something amiss about their qualifications and experience and how it relates to the role they are about to fulfill or about their personal background from a security/character/criminal standpoint or for the E3 visa whether they intend to return home
4. Unsure about the nature of a dependent on the visa petition

The problem is at this point if a candidate receives a letter or notification under “administrative processing” 221 (g) that they lose complete control over the process. Whether their case will take a 1 week or 4 months is really dependent on the individual US consulate, what the backlog is at the time, mailing times, whether the processing will happen locally or be sent back to the US, public holidays and of course the nature of the individual case.

Additionally in most instances there is no way to get extra information until the US consulate contacts you with an update or request for more information or in any way to find out how long the process is going to take. This of course can complete ruin a potential work position, as many employers in the US are unlikely to hold open a role indefinitely with no guarantee of success or timeliness. Then of course individuals and families have also no doubt made travel plans and paid costs and begun to wind down local life so can cause a lot of heartache and financial pain as well.

This is a clear example of the US Immigration system for Legal Immigrants being completely unfair and in need of complete reform. However in the new immigration laws proposed by members of congress, things like this are never discussed as that would be too practical and not score any political points! This aspect and many like it is why the Legal Immigration mess feeds into and causes Illegal Immigration problems for the US.

Sometimes US consulates when required don’t even send the “diplomatic pouch” which carries the case documents back to the US straight away and collect other cases from their particular US consulate and others in the area or country prior to sending it back. This of courses further delay along with the fact the USCIS who re-process these cases often view this as low priority cases to evaluate.
In truth this process should only be used sparingly by US consular officials as in many cases just duplicating work already done by other US Government agencies as well as the Private employer.

I wish I could give more hope and insight to the process for people in this situation but it is a veyr mysterious process and this is all that is really known about it. All I can hope is that you never be subject to condition 221 (g) and administrative processing!

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

Companies operating in the US can apply to the relevant USCIS service center for an L1 visa to transfer someone to the US from their overseas operations. Employees in this category will, initially, be granted an L-1 visa for up to three years.
The employee must have worked for the company office of the US company outside of the US for at least one year out of the last three years.

The 2 types of employees who are eligible for the L-1 visa;

1. Specialized Knowledge Employees
Employees with significant expertise in the company’s products or services, major systems or procedures, research and development or patentented techniques are issued an L-1B visa, initially for 3 years able to be extended to a maximum of 5 years.

2. Managers or Executives
The executive or manager  category can be strict and usually requires a detailed description of the role. The person should either have a supervisory responsibility for staff or a major demonstrated prominent rolw. The L-1A visa would be issued in this case, for a 3 year period initially and then able to be extended in two year increments up to a maximum of 7 years.

After completing the maximum period in L-1 visa status, the employee must be employed leave the US for at least a minimum of 1 year before a new application is made for the L-1 visa or even H-1B Visa status. The L-1 visa is a dual intent visa meaning you can apply for a green card while on L-1 visa status. L-1 visa applicants may not be denied a visa on the basis that they are an intending immigrant to the US or that they do not have a residence abroad which they do not intend to abandon. This is also common to the H-1B visa.

The L-1 Visa Application Process

An L-1 visa petition is filed with the USCIS on Form I-129, along with the Form I-129L supplement. These are the documents that are required to verify the application.

a)     A detailed job role description and requirements for the position for Managers. For the specialized knowledge position, detailed description of the unique knowledge to be used by the US branch company
b)     The corporate relationship between the U.S. company and the foreign company (can be a letter from the corporate secretary, and the Articles of Incorporation of US and Foreign Companies)
c)     Documentation verifying the capitalization structure of the company (i.e.. equity ownership documentation)
d)     Proof you have qorked at the foreign company for one of the last 3 years
e)     If coming to the US to setup a new office branch, evidence of establishment of new office (e.g. lease, sales contract, etc.)
f).     Annual report of both US and overseas company or other documents confirming financial stability
g).     An organizational chart indicating your role in the US company and the foreign company
h).     Copies of applicable business permits/licenses and registrations

For Canadian citizens applying for the L-1 visa under NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the petition may be filed at the port of entry like the airport or land border when the person applies for admission.

There is no restriction on the types of business that can sponsor an L1 visa – corporations(S, C, LLC etc.), partnerships, government-owned entities and non-profit organizations are all eligible. There are four business entities in the United States that can offer employment to the alien – a parent company, a branch, a subsidiary, or an affiliate.  Sponsoring employer need not be US owned or incorporated. Ownership requirements are not as strict in the case of vary large corporations, where a substantial minority shareholding will be a qualifying relationship.

Some other corporate conditions for the L-1 visa include

i.     A US company must control half or more of the foreign subsidiary, and have ultimate decision making power.
ii.   The foreign company should control at least half of a US subsidiary, and also have decision making powers over the US branch
iii.  Branch US and Overseas companies must each be at least half owned by the same parent organization
iv.   US organization that employs sales people abroad can sponsor these employees for the L-1 Visa even in the absence of an Overseas Branch

I hope this helps answer your questions about the L-1 visa and how it works and whether you may be eligible now or in the future to apply for it.

CJ

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.

• Require all employers who want to hire an H-1B guest-worker to first make a good-faith attempt to recruit a qualified American worker. Employers would be prohibited from using H-1B visa holders to displace qualified American workers.

• Prohibit the blatantly discriminatory practice of “H-1B only” ads and prohibit employers from hiring additional H-1B and L-1 guest-workers if more than 50% of their employees are H-1B and L-1 visa holders.

• Permit DOL to initiate investigations without a complaint and without the Labor Secretary’s personal authorization;

• Authorize DOL to review H-1B applications for fraud;

• Allow DOL to conduct random audits of any company that uses the H-1B program;

• Require DOL to conduct annual audits of companies who employ large numbers of H-1B workers.

However given phrases like this accompanying the legislation you can see how these Senators would prefer no immigration at all;
“Some claim that the H-1B program helps to create American jobs, but it is currently being used by some companies to outsource American jobs to foreign countries.”
“Employers can legally discriminate against qualified Americans by firing them without cause and recruiting only H-1B guest-workers to replace them.”

I don’t see any phrases in the legislation about how the entire US economy and United States itself is built on Immigration and that over past few years over half of the Silicon Valley Startups were by Immigrants. Nor is anything mentioned about iconic brands like Google, Yahoo and eBay being founded by immigrants and both directly and directly being responsible for hundreds of thousands oj jobs in the United States.

In essence this is just now a dangerous legislative attempt to back comments by the US pliticians and media to try and blame the tiny minority (65,000 H-1B visas annually) of foreign workers for all the US economic problems and divert blame from themselves.

All the banks and insurance companies were not only headed up by Americans but had US people all across their boards. Then of course all the US media companies who were complicit in all of this happening are all owned by US citizens. Finally of course, all politicians in the US who must share a lot of the blame are also US citizens.

So the easy scape goat for all of this becomes the foreigners when in reality they have so little to do with the failures of the economy and much more to do with the success (as mentioned above) and ability of the US economy to recover.

Therefore who is really to blame for the US economic failure and corruption?

If you are residents of Iowa or Illinois, I hope these Senators are not high on your list of people to vote for in the next election.

P.S. There is nothing in here in relation to the E-3 visa at this stage which probably has more to do with the fact it is so unknown in society.

©2012 E3 Visa. All Rights Reserved.