E-2 Case Study: KO
KO is a Japanese entrepreneur. In late 2020, he reached out to Symple for help. At that time, he was an employee of a Japanese company. He worked for them out of their New York City office; they sponsored his L-1 lateral visa. The company eventually requested that KO return to Japan, and work for them from Tokyo instead. KO did not wish to do so, as he was doing very well in NYC, having steadily built a solid professional network in his industry.
In fact, with the specific intersection of his work experience in banking and finance with his language and cultural skills, KO was in a unique, valuable position from which to begin running his own business as a specialized intermediary between startups and venture capitalists from both Japan and the United States.
And Symple could help. Symple works primarily with L-1, E-1, E-2, and EB-5 visas; based on our in-depth understanding of the intricacies of each option, we advise our clients as to the optimal choice. We determined that KO was a prime candidate for an E-2 visa. Here’s why:
E visas are only available to certain nationalities, i.e. citizens from countries that have a particular treaty agreement with the United States. As a requisite treaty exists between the United States and Japan, the client’s place of birth and residence, he met this eligibility requirement.
E visas are for foreign entrepreneurs who are buying or starting a business in the US, and the E-2 visa is specifically for individuals who are making or who have made a significant investment into said business. KO’s intention was to start a business in the United States, and had indicated to Symple the capital he had available to invest; we determined that he met this eligibility requirement as well.
E visas require proof that the applicant’s business has generated, or is projected to generate over 5 years, a profit larger than just their own reasonable salary. Upon reviewing the client’s business idea and conducting market research, we established that KO also met this eligibility requirement.
Once eligibility had been established, Symple got to work. It should be noted that at this point KO had no employees, no office or real estate in the United States, no business set up already, and no concrete experience running a business; he was also working with limited capital, with only about $75,000 USD available to invest.
The benefit of the E-2 visa is that it lets you start a business from scratch; Symple leverages this fact to the client’s benefit, as our services include (1) proactively setting up the business, and (2) writing a business plan that meets every single requirement that the government stipulates for the visa application. We therefore designed a singular, cohesive strategy for KO’s business development and visa petition.
His business is a strategic and financial consulting firm (“The Company”). Its mission is to connect U.S. startups and enterprises with strategic and investment partners internationally. KO required our assistance with (1) incorporating his business in the US; (2) writing the business plan necessary for his visa application; and (3) petitioning for the visa itself. The following document outlines the nature and progress of his work with us.
First, Symple helped KO select the best place to incorporate the business. On his behalf, we then registered The Company as a limited liability company with the State of Delaware and secured a federal employer identification number (FEIN). Symple also helped KO design The Company’s tax structure; the key objectives here being to establish a structure that (1) functioned optimally for the client’s finances, and (2) accounted for the tax treaty between Japan and the United States.
Symple’s next step with KO’s visa application was developing the business plan he would need for his application. The business plan is arguably the most important piece of the application, as this is the document that proves to the US government that you and your business do indeed deserve to be granted the requested visa. The contents of the plan vary depending on the specific requirements of the visa. A plan for an E-2 visa must include (but is most certainly not limited to): proof of investment and financial projections, as well as structural, organizational, and managerial planning.
As with any business plan, the one we wrote for KO included a research component. The research focused on the state of relevant markets in order to accurately predict costs and revenue. We looked into the global consulting market to determine realistic financial projections for the cost of starting up The Company and the potential profit; the ultimate goal being to prove that the company will be viable and profitable at the end of the E-2 visa 5-year mark established by the government. But Symple goes beyond simply researching and arguing financial projections: we researched the company’s potential first customers, and equipped our client to reach out to them, enabling the company to secure letters of intent and prospective contracts. Effectively, we lined up sources of revenue and growth for The Company, with a paper trail that served as proof of the viability and profitability of the company.
Once the materials for the client’s application were completed, the final step was the application itself, which is condensed into a single interview at the consulate. The timing of KO’s application was unfortunate, as it was in the middle of the pandemic. We were therefore dealing with delays and shutdowns at the consulate, on top of travel restrictions and other pandemic-related obstacles. Symple coordinated everything: we shopped around for the earliest appointments available for his interview, and booked it on his behalf.
We also prepared him for the interview itself, with sample questions and a remote practice session with feedback. The packet that we prepare for our clients to bring to the consulate is a collection of the necessary legal documents, as well as our comprehensive business plan containing the answers to any questions the client might be subjected to concerning the intricacies of their company. This prepares the client to successfully navigate the visa interview process.
Ultimately, KO’s application is a success story: his application and interview went smoothly, and he was awarded the desired visa.