How to use a business plan in a Request for Evidence response — addressing the officer's stated concerns, correcting inconsistencies, and adding verifiable proof.
Responding to an RFE With a Business Plan: What Actually Moves the Needle
An RFE is a specific complaint. The most common mistake in a response is answering a different question than the one the officer asked — usually by resubmitting a longer version of the same plan.
Officers typically use standardized paragraphs. Underline the operative sentence in each. Typical asks:
Managerial capacity (L-1A): the record does not establish the beneficiary will primarily manage staff or an essential function - Substantiality (E-2): the investment appears marginal relative to the cost of establishing the business - Marginality (E-2): insufficient evidence the enterprise will generate more than minimal living for the investor - Doing business (L-1/EB-1C): insufficient evidence of regular, systematic, continuous operations - Position offered (EB-1C): the U.S. role does not appear managerial or executive
Build the response with a heading for each RFE paragraph, then answer it directly with (1) a short legal-standard restatement, (2) the specific evidence, and (3) a citation to the exhibit and page. The business plan supports this structure — it does not replace it.