Answers

Incorporation of a company by a Non-US citizen

Asked by: Alex  — 5 December, 2012

Hi,
I plan to incorporate a LLC in USA, more specifically in one of 3 States: Nevada, Delaware, and Florida.
Some details about me.
I??™m citizen of Armenia and Israel and have no US citizenship, nor any kind of US Visa. For this moment, I??™m living in Armenia and would like to incorporate a Limited liability Company (LLC) in US without any physical address. It would be a VoIP provider company like Voxbeam but in more little sizes for this moment.
So, some questions have risen and I would kindly ask you to help.
1. Does a foreign citizen without any permanent or temporary visa have the same minimal capital requirement for establishing US LLC as a US citizen? (ex., State of Delaware doesn??™t require minimal capital for incorporating a company, so does this rule in force for foreign citizens too)?
2. What about opening a bank account for foreign citizen not living in USA? I??™ve found many sites which occupy with all kind of issues concerning LLC incorporation in US, including opening US bank account. Is it reliable and if not what kind of problems it might bring with it? I??™m not living in US, so it would be difficult to be present while opening a bank account. Can I delegate it to some other person or reliable company?
3. Is it okay to incorporate a VoIP provider company without physical address, acting through website?
4. Does this kind of activity demand any special license (on their site , Voxbeam don??™t say that it??™s licensed to provide this kind of services, that??™s why I assume it doesn??™t need)?
Thank you in advance for your help and support.

Answered by: admin  — 5 December, 2012

Alex,

Allow me to answer your questions one by one:

1. There are no minimum requirements when forming an LLC, whether the owners live domestically or internationally. You may register a U.S. company without being a resident or citizen of the United States, and you are not required to have a U.S. address, social security number, or submit any financial or identification documents. We have a research article titled ‘U.S. Companies for Foreigners‘, which you will find very helpful in guiding your business registration through the appropriate online applications.

2. As our office is in New York City, myself and other colleagues have researched the bank account topic with many international banking chains in person, and learned it is very difficult to open a U.S. business account remotely, as U.S. banks require applicants to appear in person. When you do find a provider of this service, it’s definitely advised to ask as many questions as possible and be a little cautious. We put together a research article of our findings titled ‘U.S. Bank Account‘, which offers tips and resources to establishing the account.

3. That is usually not a problem. You are not required to have a U.S. address when registering your business. For example, you can list a home or office address in Armenia or Israel, or another country, as long as it is a physical address, and not a P.O. Box.

4. I am not sure if this specific service would require a license from the Federal Communication Commission (F.C.C.) or other agency. It may depend on the level of the service you are providing, such as a wholesaler opposed to reselling the service. On our company registration applications, we have an option titled ‘license research’, which you could select and our licensing department would be able to research any license requirements with all the state, appropriate offices and agencies.

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