Written by: Elizabeth Tran, Business Development Analyst

Foreword

Visa Franchise supports immigrant entrepreneurs in finding businesses for their E-2, L-1, or EB-5 direct  visa so they can move to the U.S. and pursue their American Dream. Many of our clients are influenced to move to the U.S. by the educational opportunities for their children. Specifically, so their children can have a better education, which would then lead to a better quality of life and more opportunities along the way.

Going to an American School

One initial prospective client call I remember clearly, was with an Egyptian national who decided to pursue the E-2 visa after speaking to his immigration attorney. He explained he could either pay $40,000 a year for an American school in his home country or invest around $150,000 in a business or franchise that he would direct while his child had access to U.S. education.

The School Year Ends, and Summer Break Begins

In the U.S., most schools finish the year towards the end of May or early June. Students usually have around three months of summer break, until the following school year begins. Typically, the school year starts at the end of August. It is during those summer months that many U.S. families arrange summer vacations, enroll their children in summer camps, and/or visit family overseas.

Also, during this time, many of our clients go through the business search process. They want to finalize their business investment and visa process by the beginning of the school year so their children can start the new academic year with the rest of their class.

Finding the Right Investment Opportunity before the School Year Begins

Visa Franchise’s typical client takes around three to four months to go through the business search process. However, we have been able to expedite the process successfully as long as our client is very proactive in the search and analysis with the franchisors and franchisees. As many of our clients live outside of the U.S., we manage the search process on the ground. Through our hands-on approach, when the client visits the U.S., they are fully prepared in meeting the right businesses that align with their short- and long-term goals. This reduces the number of trips a client needs to take to meet with these businesses and understand the business opportunity.

Visa Franchise supports immigrant entrepreneurs by saving them time throughout the business search process. To date, we have reviewed over 1,500 concepts to see if they qualify for the E-2, L-1, or EB-5 direct investor visa and if the business model has a relatively high chance of success for prospective immigrant entrepreneurs.  Based on our research, we have around 100 businesses in our portfolio that are a strong fit for investor visa opportunities. We provide a customized, client-based search that starts with understanding the client’s profile and business/ immigration goals.

Conclusion

As the summer begins, so do many of our clients in their business search process. We look forward to supporting more families move to the U.S. to pursue their American dream and provide their children with a better education often times leading to better opportunities.