Frequently Asked Questions

Franchising is a method of distributing products or services. Each franchise system typically includes the franchisor, who lends the brand and business system, and the franchisee, who pays a royalty and often an initial franchise fee for the right to do business under the franchisor’s name and system.

Foreign franchises can be quite successful in the U.S. but generally after several adjustments to their business model. We prefer to work with foreign franchisor brands that have at least three units operating in the U.S. and a track record of success.

Investment requirements range greatly depending on the franchise, location, and industry. Total start-up costs can range from $20,000 to over $1,000,000, depending on the franchise selected. Please note for the E-2 visa, we recommend a minimum investment amount of $150,000.

For 99% of franchises, the franchise fee, ad-fund, and royalties are non-negotiable. Even for investments in multiple units there are usually prearranged discounts on the franchise fee. Other minor terms might be negotiated with the help of a qualified franchise attorney.

Visa Franchise has spent years analyzing and reviewing countless franchises on behalf of our clients. This has enabled us to find the best opportunities that are available to foreign nationals and have territory availability throughout the United States. We have reviewed over 1,500 businesses and only about 100 have passed our stringent criteria to be offered to clients.

There are other franchise consultant sites, which publish the 500-600 franchises that they work with. Regularly, we review their portfolio and might only overlap on 5-7 franchises from their entire 500+ franchise list. There are many franchises but they are not all created equal. Visa Franchise specializes in advising E-2 applicants on the best franchises and businesses to invest in for their visa.

Starting your own business in the United States is possible, but very difficult. There are numerous obstacles immigrant entrepreneurs face when starting their own business. More information can be found here.

Visa Franchise does research and analysis of franchise investments on a continuous bases. So far we have analyzed more than 1,500 franchises, yet we are only working with roughly 100 that we are comfortable presenting to clients. The criteria we use with the support of the franchisors decreases risk for our clients.

The cost associated with franchising enables the franchisee to receive all the support and benefits of the franchise. These benefits include: site selections, development support, training, marketing, and ongoing operational support. Additionally, the cost allows the franchisee the right to use a brand with a well-established business model and name.

We do have relations with a number of global franchise brands. However, the bigger and more established brands typically require a minimum development of three or more units, which raises the investment value to well over $1,000,000. Also, brands like Dunkin’ Donuts do not accept investors that do not already have a green card or citizenship. As for Starbucks, it is not a franchisor within the United States.

That’s a great question that we receive all the time. That answer depends on a variety of factors; e.g., location, industry, how many hours you are willing to work, and if your spouse works with you. The variability of factors is too high for us to give a concrete answer. We generally don’t recommend franchises that would have net profits of less than $5,000 per month for an owner operator.

The ad-fund is a fee on franchisees that adds to a company advertising fund. This fee is a payment on the advertising and marketing that the corporate company provides to all of the franchises.

Royalties are a percentage or fixed payments paid to the corporate company on a regular basis. This fee is the ongoing payment for the right to use a company’s brand name.

The FDD, Franchise Disclosure Document, is the legal document given to potential franchise buyers in order to promise their disclosure of private corporate information.

For other franchise terms like these see our Glossary Terms article.

As per our process, it could take about a month or more to decide on a franchise to invest in once we have completed our search and analysis.

It is advised to start small if this is your first investment in a real business (non-financial market investment) in the U.S. After operating the first unit, you can always open up more franchises in the same brand. That being said, there are many U.S. franchises that require a commitment of at least 3 franchises over a certain time frame (generally 2-3 years).

Unfortunately, roughly 30% of franchises do not accept franchisees who are not already Americans or green card holders. Typically, the franchises with these restrictions are the more established and well-known companies, such as Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Baskin-Robbins. However, Visa Franchise specializes in working with franchises that are more than willing to accept franchisees that are foreign nationals pursuing an investor visa. Visa Franchise has completed research and analysis on over 1,500 franchises on behalf of our clients.

The franchisor will support you with training and depending on the franchise, they help with recruiting employees as well.

Some franchises are much more stringent than other franchises, and will vet your previous work experience, net worth, liquid cash, as well as other criteria. In general, the franchises want someone who is entrepreneurial and willing to “roll up their sleeves” to get the job done!

At Visa Franchise, we have advised clients who are opening up multiple franchises given their experience in the U.S. or their past jobs in management that surmount to well over $1 million.

Visa Franchise works with many franchises within a diverse range of industries. We are always adding franchises in new industries to our portfolio based off our research and analysis work we do for our clients.

Some of these industries include:

• Fitness
• Healthcare/Senior Care
• Education
• Pet Care
• Cleaning Services
• Property Management
• Healthy Fast Food
• Better Burger
• Frozen Desserts

Visa Franchise works with franchises with territory availability throughout the U.S. Many of our clients choose to reside in Florida, Texas, and California but we’ve worked with clients throughout the U.S. and regularly travel on-site.

Many franchisors do require that the franchisee speaks professional-level English. We have some clients who will have another partner as a franchisee who will facilitate the English requirement. Also, Visa Franchise has franchisors who speak many different languages, including: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Turkish, Chinese, and many other languages.

If you have any questions regarding these terms or franchising in general, please feel free to call (+1-888-550-7556) or email us (info@visafranchise.com) at Visa Franchise anytime!