EB5 Investors Magazine "Top 25 issue" Volume 9 Issue 1 | Page 83

WINNERS LISTED ALPHABETICALLY
TOP BUSINESS PLAN WRITERS
PHIL COHEN
STRATEGIC ELEMENT INC . / ALTYTUDE ADVISERS

Phil Cohen is the president of Strategic Element Inc ., and a vice president at Altytude Advisers . Strategic Element has been offering business plans and feasibility studies to the EB-5 industry since 2010 , and has participated in offerings raising over $ 3.5 billion in EB-5 capital . In 2018 , Cohen expanded his involvement in the EB-5 industry by participating in the development and launch of Altytude Advisors to address EB-5 redeployment . He regularly speaks at and participates in EB-5 events and conferences including EB5 Investors Magazine , iGlobal Forum and AILA . He was also the founder of The EB-5 Definitive Guide .

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY ?
Creating jobs , facilitating the American Dream for immigrants , and supporting business growth . What could be better ?
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY FOLLOWING THE PANDEMIC AND REAUTHORIZATION ?
In March of 2022 , the switch was flipped back to “ on ” in the EB-5 regional center program . Since then , there has been a significant jump in new inquiries , both for the development of new projects and new regional centers .
WILLIAM DEAN
MASTERPLANS

William Dean is vice president of immigration at Masterplans , an Inc . 500 business plan writing company founded in 2002 . He directs a team of market research and finance experts creating filing-ready business plans for clients referred by 300 + law offices . Dean specializes in reviewing client materials and RFEs to help E-2 , L-1A , EB-2 , and EB-5 applicants obtain their visas . He first encountered EB-5 in 2008 , and since that time has overseen almost 2,500 visa business plans . Dean is a frequent speaker at immigration conferences and on podcasts . He graduated with honors from Brown University and was a paralegal at Stoel Rives before joining Masterplans .

WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY ?
I started at Masterplans in 2005 as a writer , making business plans for clients seeking bank loans or angel investors . As more people inquired about E-2 and L-1 visas , I pivoted to those projects , educating myself on the different criteria and refining our deliverables for immigration candidates . In 2010 ,
I prepared the business plan that a group of Florida investors used to set up a new regional center with USCIS . By then I was focused exclusively on immigration plans and business development , networking with attorneys and training our team on the popular visa categories where a business plan strengthens the case .
WHAT NEW TYPES OF PROJECTS AND TRENDS ARE YOU SEEING IN THE EB-5 INDUSTRY FOLLOWING THE PANDEMIC AND REAUTHORIZATION ?
For us , the reauthorization hasn ’ t resulted in much change . I ’ m sure it ’ s been a headache for our past regional center clients , but Masterplans ’ direct investment projects carry on like normal , just with more clarity now ( and of course higher minimums ). The pooled directs that were popular last summer have disappeared . As in years past , the most noticeable impact continues to be an increase in other types of projects – both for developers no longer relying on EB-5 in their capital stack , and for immigrants embracing E-2 , NIW , or intracompany transferee methods to come to the U . S .
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