Incorporating in the US as non-resident - which visa to apply for ?

[thomasboivin]

Hi there,

First of all, thanks for the great help and support you guys provide !

My wife and I are creating a company (LLC or C corp) in the USA as non-resident. I'm posting here to get additional guidance on which visa to apply for, at least for the beginning of the company's life. I've read about most visa options, and to me it seems that all B1, L1 and E describe our situation in some way.

The company is just being created, which means we don't have evidences of a running business (sales, expenses, etc.) yet. However, we do have evidences of a business in creation (CPA, banks, website, customers, business plan, etc.) I'm looking for a visa that will allow us (or one of us at least) to go on site (Nevada) and sign contracts/partnerships (B1 is enough for that I believe), but also to start working and do sales with customers.

Thanks again for your help, we appreaciate any kind of feedback and guidance you guys can provide ;-)

Have a good one everybody,
Thomas

[flyingron]

You can't use an L1. L1 requires the company exist and that you've been employed by them for over a year. E visas is not available for you as an Indian.

A B-1 will allow you to come and set up the corporation, but you can't do any thing that would be considered "work" for that company.

[thomasboivin]

Hi,

I'm from Belgium and my wife is from Finland, so E visas are available to us.

Thanks for you answer

[ZacharySaenz]

Do you currently have a visa?

[alexpor]

That's a great idea as Anyone can form a limited liability company (LLC) in the USA; you don't need to be a US citizen or a US company. Foreign citizens and foreign companies can form an LLC in the USA. There are no citizenship or residence requirements for ownership of a C Corporation or an LLC. The S Corporation however does not allow nonresident aliens to be shareholders (owner), but any US citizen or resident alien may be a shareholder (owner). Business Entity Search

[flyingron]

There's no such entity as a C corporation or S corporation. S corp and C corp are tax elections. You are correct in that you can not elect S corp status if you have any non-resident aliens shareholders (there's lots of other restrictions as well).

Note, I'm not sure what a "great idea" is. The question is whether an LLC or Corporation makes sense for you at all. Creating them is a lot easier than operating them and even terminating them.