In the wake of President Joe Biden’s administration, many changes have happened that could have a positive impact on the business world. He not only reversed the ban for travel issued by former President Donald Trump but has also promised to give individuals with illegal immigration status in the U.S. a legal status (Holpuch, 2021). This in itself provides a broad market in which demand exceeds supply. In 2019 alone, 800,000 individuals applied for citizenship by naturalization. In 2021, the number is expected to rise with the new ruling party politics, creating a platform for an immigration consultancy business. The Diversity Visa lottery alone has 50,000 slots for an individual to merit and enter into the U.S. (Holpuch, 2021). However, the number of people who apply are relatively higher and thus creating an avenue for business. Apart from immigration visa categories, the employment-based visa is capped at 140,000a year.
Business Potential
One of the major customers in our business is individuals worldwide who are applying for immigrant and non-immigrant (J, H, B) visas from all over the world. With the change in policies, the number of applicants is likely to increase this coming year. The processing of applying for a visa can be overwhelming. For the DV-lottery immigrant visa, a lot of information is required to be filled in the application. This can prove to be a tedious process, especially most people have other jobs to attend to and may keep postponing visa applications. At a fee, our business will help an applicant fill and submit the documents lifting a lot of weight from an individual. In the non-immigrant category, our designated agent will help link up individuals with work and exchange programs they desire. We will take on the task of carrying out the application process living the applicant with the burden of attending the interview, and gathering all the necessary funds required to complete the process.
The next category we are targeting is illegal immigrants living in the U.S. As it stands out now, there are eleven million illegal immigrants within the U.S. running the risk of deportation. With the new Biden Policy, the odds for these categories of individuals getting immigration status within the U.S. have dramatically improved. This subsequently means that individuals will be willing to invest more of their time and money in getting a legal migration status. Our consultancy firm has the potential of growth by filling out the necessary paper work and providing or linking individuals with lawyers who can represent them well in court.
Validation Criteria
Attractiveness
An attractive business is beautiful to employees and customers due to its ability to transform its status. This business has new potential customers entering the field every-day. Every year individuals want to come into the U.S. for various reasons, and thus a working immigration consultancy will allow them to speed up the process. The guarantee that comes with higher chances of success when helped by a consultancy agency makes the business more attractive than ever before.
Durability
Our proposed business is a durable one. Studies show that over the years, the rate of immigration into America has been on the increase. At no point in time has there been a situation where no immigration was allowed into the U.S. There are also specific jobs in the market niche that are famously left for the immigrants that none of the American citizens participate in. These factors point to the fact that the immigration industry is durable and has no potential of collapse unless grossly mismanaged.
Timeliness
It evident that our business is coming in just at the right time. It is in the wake of Joe Biden’s administration. Joe Biden has promised policy changes that have the potential of increasing immigration consultancy by a significant stretch. The policies touch on changing the status of illegal immigrants to legal and expanding the number of immigrant and non-immigrant visas into the United States of America.
Customer Value
The proposed business will speak two aspects of immigration that are of absolute importance to our service’s primary consumers, timely application and increased chances of immigration requests being accepted. Since we only focus on immigration issues as our daily job, we are always going to submit applications early on the application processes. All the individuals involved in the service process will have top-notch qualifications to conduct the process. Thus, at every given time, customers will be exposed to the best service there is regarding immigration.
How much are customers willing to pay?
On average, customers are willing to pay 100 $ to assist with the Diversity Visa lottery process. Non-immigrant individuals typically pay up to 50 dollars in the search for job and internship placement. This fee act as a fee for the service rendered. Customers can be willing to pay 75$ – 300 $ for lawyer consultation, depending on the reputation of service quality. The rates for hiring a lawyer ranges from 150$ – 350 $ per hour. A filling can go up to 2000$ depending on the service demanded.
How Developed is the Competition?
The U.S. immigration Consultancy is one of the greatest consultancy agencies in America, and it is significantly developed in the market. This particular consultancy agents have been in the market for over 30 years. It is a very well-established firm. Its services are extended from Texas all through to California state. They repute themselves for returning the best results worth their money. They offer services for permanent residence, citizenship by naturalization, fiancée visa processing, and naturalization certificate.
Unmet Market Need
Some sectors in the U.S. have unmet labor needs, such as computer-related jobs. Immigrants fill these vacancies. However, some immigrants cannot successfully get a visa due to a lack of proper document filling and lack of correct information on job opportunities. With the potential coming influx in an immigration application, the is a likely increase in demand for a proper immigration process creating a gap that should be filled.
Potential Consumers
- Illegal immigrants living within the U.S.
- Individuals facing the risk of losing their citizenship and deportation
- Individuals seeking a fiancée visa
- Non-immigrants – Seeking help with work, student exchange programs, and tourist visits.
- The immigration services will be required all year round except for the DV lottery immigration visa only attended to in two months.
Benefits and Values of this Business
- Customers are given excellent value for their money.
- Faster results are guaranteed for the visa process.
- Reduced chances of rejection by the immigration
Risks
- Unpredicted markets – This business’s success is silently hinged on the fact the Biden has suggested policies that are likely to improve the need for consultancy services. Policies like this are unpredictable, and even though they are continuously run on the frontline of news, they can take a while to implement.
- Dissatisfied client – Our main goal is to ensure that our consumers can get the best shot to work, study, train, and gain citizenship in the United States. Sometimes individuals still end up being denied a visa after spending a considerable amount of money on the process. This can lead to frustration and a bad rating that can ultimately affect this business negatively.
- Competition – There well-established immigration consultancy firms that have been running for decades. There is the risk that customers will be less inclined to approach an upcoming company.
In considering all the interacting factors, an immigration consulting business is a viable business approach. The business has to establish a trusted market presence and understand that it will take time for the business to acquire a stable flow of customers.
Bibliography
Holpuch, Amanda. (2021). Biden Takes Action on Anti-Immigrant Policies but Trump’s Influence Hovers. The guardian.
Appendix
| MARKET ANALYSIS TABLE | ||
| Who are the potential customers? | Illegal immigrants living within the U.S. Individuals facing the risk of losing their citizenship and deportation Individuals seeking a fiancée visa Non-immigrants – Seeking help with work, student exchange programs, and tourist visits. | |
| Where is your Market? | America and all other countries legible for immigration and non-immigration visas into the U.S. | |
| Amount customers are willing to pay currently | 100 $ to assist with the Diversity Visa lottery process. Non-immigrant individuals typically pay up to 50 dollars in the search for job and internship placement. 75$ – 300 $ for lawyer consultation depending on the reputation of service quality. The rates for hiring a lawyer ranges from 150$ – 350 $ per hour. Filling documents – 2000$ depending on the service demanded. | |
| Recent trends in favor of the business. | Change in policy by President Joe Biden bankrolling a move to increase the number of immigrants into the U.S. and changing the status of illegal immigrants in the U.S. to legal | |
| Major Competitor | The U.S. immigration consultants | Strength: This particular consultancy agents have been in the market for over 30 years. It is a very well-established firm. |
| Weaknesses: Mostly caters for immigration within America | ||
| Competitive Advantage | We help both local and international individuals with pursuable visa claims. | |