What does an E-2 business plan cost?
A business plan is usually the single most scrutinised document in an E-2 filing, because it is where marginality is won or lost. It is normally prepared by a specialist planner or an economist rather than by counsel, which is why it sits outside legal fees as a separate cost.
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The plan is a separate professional cost.
Business-plan preparation is a third-party professional service, distinct from both your investment capital and your legal fees. Budgeting for it separately avoids an unwelcome surprise late in the process.
Complexity, not page count
A single-location service business is straightforward. A multi-site operation, a franchise, or a business with imports, licensing or complex staffing requires far more modelling — and that is what moves the price.
Financials that survive scrutiny
Five-year projections, staffing and hiring plans, market analysis, and a clear path to generating more than a minimal living. Projections that are not defensible are worse than none.
Usually a specialist
Most E-2 plans are written by professional business-plan writers or economists working alongside your attorney, so the legal strategy and the financial narrative align rather than contradict each other.
Do I need a business plan for an E-2 visa?
In practice, yes. The plan is how the marginality requirement is usually addressed, and consular officers rely on it heavily to understand what the business will actually do.
Is the business plan included in attorney fees?
Normally no. Plans are usually prepared by a specialist writer or economist and billed separately, though your attorney should direct the content so it supports the legal case.
What makes an E-2 business plan weak?
Generic templates, projections with no stated assumptions, hiring plans that do not match the financials, and market analysis that could describe any business. Officers see a great many plans and recognise a template quickly.
How far ahead should the plan project?
Five years is the convention, with the early period detailed enough to show how the business becomes capable of supporting more than a minimal living.