For attorneys handling L-1 new office petitions and E-2 treaty investor cases, the immigration business plan is one of the most labor-intensive supporting documents in the file. Incomplete, generic, or late business documentation can create additional work for the attorney and delay filing preparation. This article looks at how one experienced practitioner, Hany Brollesy, Esq. of Brollesy Law LLC, approaches business plans in his L-1 and E-2 practice, what he looks for in a plan, and how outsourcing plan preparation to a coordinated business support provider fits into an attorney-led workflow.
You will come away with a practical picture of what a business plan typically needs to cover in these case types, where attorneys commonly lose time on the business-side components, and what a division of labor between counsel and a business support services company looks like in practice.
Why the Immigration Business Plan Carries Weight in L-1 and E-2 Matters
Both the L-1 and the E-2 ask an adjudicator to evaluate a business, not just a person, though the two frameworks differ. “New office” is an L-1 concept: in an L-1A new office petition, the petitioner generally must show that the new U.S. operation will support a managerial or executive position within one year of petition approval, while an L-1B new office petition instead turns on specialized knowledge and evidence of sufficient physical premises and the financial ability to remunerate the beneficiary and commence doing business. The E-2 treaty investor analysis is different: it generally involves treaty-country nationality, a substantial investment of irrevocably committed capital, a real and active enterprise that is not marginal, and the investor’s ability to develop and direct it. Attorneys should confirm the current requirements against the live USCIS Policy Manual and 9 FAM 402.9 for any specific case; those are legal questions for counsel.
In practice, the business plan is where much of that story gets told in one place. A tailored plan can organize relevant business facts in one document for the attorney to review alongside the other supporting evidence.
As Hany Brollesy, an immigration attorney with 30 years of practice focused on business immigration (H-1B, TN, L-1, and E-2), puts it in his review of working with ISS: “one of the critical pieces that’s very persuasive to the immigration services is a strong business plan.” That is especially true, in his experience, for L-1 new office petitions and E-2 cases involving a new enterprise, where the U.S. business has little or no operating history to point to.
What a Strong Business Plan Typically Includes
Attorneys who review plans regularly tend to converge on a similar checklist. An immigration business plan prepared for an L-1 or E-2 matter typically includes:
- A company presentation and background: what the company does, its ownership, and its history abroad where relevant
- Products and services, described specifically enough that an adjudicator unfamiliar with the industry can follow
- Management and personnel projections, which matter particularly in L-1A new office petitions, where the projections should credibly show support for a managerial or executive position within the first year even where the plan runs to five years
- Industry and competition analysis, plus a market study grounded in the actual geography and sector
- A marketing and sales plan showing how the business intends to reach customers
- Five-year financial projections consistent with the rest of the filing
For L-1A new office petitions specifically, the attorney will typically also want the plan and accompanying evidence to address the proposed nature and scope of the U.S. office, its organizational structure and financial goals, the size of the U.S. investment, the foreign entity’s organizational structure and ability to remunerate the beneficiary, and sufficient physical premises. Attorneys should verify the current evidentiary requirements against the live USCIS Policy Manual.
Brollesy’s description of the ISS plans his firm uses tracks this structure closely. In his words, they are “tailored to your industry” and “very comprehensive,” covering market analysis, financial projections, personnel projections, and detailed company background and growth strategy. The tailoring point is worth underlining: USCIS evaluates whether the business plan and other evidence are detailed, credible, internally consistent, and corroborated, so a plan aligned with the rest of the petition serves the attorney’s review better than a generic template. Whether any particular document satisfies the requirements of a given filing is always a judgment for the attorney handling the case.
How Brollesy Law Integrates ISS Into Its L-1 and E-2 Workflow
Brollesy Law has worked with Immigration Support Services for several years, using ISS-coordinated business plans prepared for the firm’s clients. His assessment: “they’re among the best that we’ve seen.” He also reports that in his firm’s experience these plans have supported successful applications. Every case is different and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
The workflow behind that experience is straightforward. The attorney remains responsible for all legal strategy, eligibility analysis, and filings. ISS handles the business-side piece: a dedicated ISS coordinator guides the client through the plan process from start to finish, and the plan itself is prepared by professional business plan writers experienced in immigration-related documentation. The first draft is typically ready within 7 to 10 business days after the client submits all required documents and the intake questionnaire, with unlimited revisions until the design phase. That conditional timeline matters to attorneys managing filing windows, because the variable they can influence, client document collection, is stated up front.
This division of labor is the core of the arrangement. ISS works alongside the immigration attorney, who remains responsible for all legal strategy and filings; ISS coordinates the business-side pieces. The attorney reviews the plan, ensures consistency with the legal theory of the case, and decides how and whether it is used in the filing.
Why Attorneys Outsource the Business-Side Components
There are three recurring reasons practitioners give for moving plan preparation out of the law firm.
First, time. Financial projections, market research, and industry analysis are real work, and they are not legal work. Hours spent building a market study are hours not spent on the legal argument, and few firms staff for both.
Second, organization. A structured intake process, with a coordinator collecting the underlying facts from the client, helps organize the underlying facts and can reduce back-and-forth caused by incomplete business documentation.
Third, revision capacity. Business plans in L-1 and E-2 matters rarely survive first contact with attorney review unchanged. Unlimited revisions until the design phase means the attorney can request adjustments to align the plan with the case without renegotiating scope each time.
ISS has completed more than 575 immigration business plans since 2022, alongside related business-side services such as business entity registration and business checking account application assistance, so the process attorneys plug into is a well-worn one rather than an improvisation. Where a client also needs entity registration or a U.S. business checking account, ISS can facilitate entity registration through an independent document-filing provider and assist with the checking account application; the client and their attorney remain responsible for decisions such as entity type, state of formation, and ownership structure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who prepares the immigration business plan when an attorney works with ISS?
The plan is prepared by professional business plan writers experienced in immigration-related documentation, coordinated through ISS. A dedicated ISS coordinator guides the client through the process from start to finish, and the attorney reviews the finished plan and decides how it is used in the filing.
How long does the first draft of a business plan take?
The first draft is typically ready within 7 to 10 business days after the client submits all required documents and the intake questionnaire. The timeline depends on the client completing intake, so it is a conditional estimate, not a promise.
Does a business plan guarantee an L-1 or E-2 approval?
No. A business plan is a supporting document prepared from client-provided information. Whether any document meets the requirements of a filing, and whether a case qualifies for a visa category at all, are legal questions for the client’s licensed immigration attorney, and no outcome is ever guaranteed.
Does using ISS change the attorney’s role in the case?
No. ISS works alongside the immigration attorney, who remains responsible for all legal strategy, eligibility analysis, and filings. ISS coordinates only the business-side pieces.
What This Means for Your Practice
Brollesy’s experience is one attorney’s account, and every practice runs differently. But the underlying pattern generalizes: business documentation can be an important part of L-1 and E-2 filings, especially in new office matters, and it does not have to be produced inside the law firm to be produced well. An attorney who can use ISS to coordinate the business plan and checking account application assistance, and to facilitate entity registration through an independent provider, keeps the file moving while staying focused on the legal strategy only counsel can provide.
If you handle L-1, E-2, EB-5, or EB-2 NIW matters and want to see how ISS coordinates the business-side components for attorneys’ clients, schedule an introductory call here. The routing form will direct you to the attorney calendar.
Immigration Support Services Inc. is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. The information in this article is for general educational purposes only. Immigration laws change frequently, and legal questions should be directed to a licensed immigration attorney.
