What differentiates an EB-5 business plan from a regular business plan?

An EB-5 business plan must comply with the requirements in Matter of Ho. You should start by consulting an EB-5 immigration attorney and EB-5 business plan writer.

Whether a "regular" business plan is compatible as an EB-5 investment plan will depend on the structure of the business, and the nature of the investment sought. Several components distinguish an EB-5 business plan from a regular plan, but three requirements are critical and specific to an EB-5 investment. Generally, to qualify, the investor must invest, at minimum, $1 million (in certain special circumstances, $500,000) in a new commercial enterprise that creates or preserves at least 10 full-time jobs for qualifying U.S. workers within two years of the immigrant investor''s admission to the United States as a conditional permanent resident.

The Immigration Appeals Board Case, Matter of Ho, sets out all of the key aspects that must be in an EB-5 business plan and if you review the case, you will see that there are no real surprises. That is, all of the factors that Matter of Ho says should be in your business plan are really things that any good business plan developer would include. According to the case, when you file a I-526 petition an EB-5 investor must submit a credible comprehensive business plan demonstrating the following: A description of the business, what the business produces or the services provided and the objectives of the business. In addition, where relevant or applicable, the plan should describe the manufacturing or production process, the inputs required, and the supply sources. A comprehensive market analysis that includes an assessment of competitors (names and why you can compete with them), along with the strengths and weaknesses of these competitors. This has to be a detailed analysis that includes financial data and looks at the competitors’ products, services and pricing structures. You must describe your target market and who you expect to buy your product or service and why. In addition, you should also detail any business that you have already secured and describe executed contracts. To the extent contracts have been executed, the specific terms and detail should be included in the plan. Where applicable, you should also outline in the plan that the company has received or will receive project specific permits and/or licenses. You must provide a comprehensive overview of the marketing strategy of the business, including pricing, advertising, and how you will provide your products or services. You should detail the exact forms of marketing (eg. Google Ads, Newspapers, etc.), as well as the strategy. A detailed personnel plan is also required that outlines the business’ organizational structure and personnel. You should detail both current and future hires along with pay, job description and benefits. Your plan must include a significant amount of financial data including sales, cost/expenses, balance sheet, cash flow and income projections. You should also include all relevant assumptions.

You need to address all the requirements on the I-924 form. So reading this form carefully is the first step. Hiring an EB-5 attorney and business writer can certainly help too.

A good regular business plan would often suffice for EB-5 purposes. USCIS likes to see details especially on the job creation and timing. Other factors such as an analysis of your competitors, sufficient information to make it clear you know your market, know your business, have worked out reasonable revenue, and personnel projections are all important factors. If not a Regional Center, then you cannot count indirect jobs anyway, so you do not need fancy economic analysis.

An EB-5 business plan must meet certain requirements, aka be Matter of Ho compliant.

The EB-5 visa is most often referred to as an investment visa. It is really a job creation visa. The point in an EB-5 business plan would be to stress how many jobs will be created and when they would be created. You would need a realistic plan describing the specific jobs, when they would be created and where. You must create 10 jobs per investor within a period of two years (really about 21 months) once the investor receives his or her conditional permanent residency (green card). A full time job is described in the program as 35 hours per week. Part time employment may be combined to create one full time position. There will be other differences depending on whether or not you utilize a regional center. A good rule of thumb is to keep the job creation in the forefront.

An EB-5 business plan must comply with a precedent decision by the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), Matter of Ho. There are very specific requirements for what must be included. An experienced EB-5 immigration attorney would be able to explain the detailed requirements and how they apply to your business plan. Above all, the business plan should be comprehensive and credible. That is, the data in the business plan must be supported by verifiable sources and industry standards, which will show that the use of the EB-5 capital and the creation of the ten new full-time jobs is feasible.

The EB-5 business plan is governed by the EB-5 case of the Matter of Ho. The case states what should be included in an EB-5 business plan. The business plan for an EB-5 project will include references to the TEA geography, if applicable, the construction timelines, and how the investment funds will be used for operations, etc.

An EB-5 business plan is different as it must comply with Matter of Ho.

The most important requirement for an EB-5 investment case is the creation of 10-plus full-time, permanent jobs for each EB-5 investor you will obtain. Thus, if you get EB-5 investors, you need to include in the business plan how you will create those required jobs and provide the job title, description of duties and organizational chart that includes those jobs. Remember, 10-plus jobs created must be for each EB-5 investor you get, which means if you get two or three EB-5 investors, you need to show that you will create 20 and 30 jobs, respectively.

You have to comply with the EB-5 rules and regulations. There is actually a specific case that sets out the requirements. Hopefully, you will retain qualified EB-5 counsel with strong relationships with experienced EB-5 business plan writers who can assist you.