EFTA01810121.pdf

03/23/2012 05:00 FAX la0001/0002 MARK/ATI 19 March 2012 USCIS Vermont Service Center ATTN: 1-129 Appeal 75 Lower Welden Street St. Albans. VT O5478-239 Re: SLK Designs' H-lb Petition on Behalf of Ms. Dear Sir or Milian': I am an interior designer with more than 25 years of experience as the owner and principle designer of MARKZEFF, founded in 1984. Located in New York City, we are an International, full-service design-consulting firm. I am providing this letter in an effort to help provide insight into the design business and the types of specialized professionals we utilize. I know personally. She Is an interior designer with amazing talent. To succeed, in our business, however, Sarah's company needs more than even Sarah's sheer artistic talent. Good business planning and precise marketing are prerequisites of success. In our business, dominated by artistic minds, the marketing and business planning aspects become more difficult because an "artistic mind" and sharp business acumen do not frequently reside in the same person. Therefore, typically in our business, to ensure our success and growth, we rely on sharp business professionals who understand our art. A business person who does not understand our art form would be no use to us. Our artistic projects require a different insight than other businesses like banking, technology, etc. Therefore, I (and my peers) seek out professionals with business and marketing education, who have experience in the design business, to help lead the marketing and business planning aspects of my organization. It is very difficult to find professionals with such specialized education and experience. Therefore, when we find the right person, we hold on to them and rely heavily on them for our business and marketing decisions. This is the lay of the land in the design business. EFTA_R1_00170989 EFTA01810121 03/23/2012 05:00 FAX lit0002/0002 As I mentioned, I know and her work personally. Sarah, like any other successful interior designer, needs a very specifically trained business professional for her business development, planning and marketing. She found such a person in IIMM. Ms. has formal education in business and commerce and has immense experience in the interior design business. in order to ensure the success and growth of her business, Ms. requires a professional with the specialized education and experience possessed by Ms. M. I hope this letter has helped to address the necessity of retaining specialized talent that is essential to the prosperity of our firms arid the interior design industry at large. Sincerely yours, MARKZCFF 515 WU:: t;S, 4W tii- W YORK. 10 1O011 I' mariczoff.corn EFTA_R1_00170990 EFTA01810122