US LLC without a visa: the myths, then the real procedure

The question comes up every week in our conversations: do you need a visa to form an LLC in the USA? The answer is a single word, no. US law does not require a visa, a green card or a Social Security Number to own a US LLC. A valid passport and an address abroad are enough. What stops people is not the law but the myths circulating on forums and procedures that are poorly explained.

This article sorts things out in two parts. First the claims we hear most often, with what is true and what is false in each. Then the procedure as it really unfolds, step by step, when you form your US LLC from your own country without ever setting foot in an American office.

The myths about forming a US LLC without a visa

“You need a visa or a green card to own a US company”

False. The laws of all fifty states open the LLC to any individual or company, whatever their nationality or place of residence. The formation document, the Articles of Organization, has no box about your immigration status. The registries of Wyoming, New Mexico and Delaware hold tens of thousands of companies owned by non-residents who have never held a US visa. That is exactly the model LLC Place works on every day.

“Forming a US LLC will get me a visa”

Also false, and it is the opposite myth, just as widespread. Owning an LLC grants no right to enter, stay or work in the United States. If you travel to meet a client, you enter with your ESTA or a visitor visa, like any business traveller. Investor visas such as the E-2 are a separate process, with a substantial investment and a physical presence. The LLC is a tool to sell, get paid and sign contracts internationally, not a residence permit.

“Without an SSN or ITIN you cannot get an EIN”

False. The IRS issues the EIN, the company's tax identification number, to foreign owners with no Social Security Number. The application goes through Form SS-4, sent by fax or mail, with the word “foreign” written in place of the Social Security Number. It takes longer than for a resident who gets the number online in minutes, but the result is the same: an EIN that works for the bank, Stripe, PayPal and tax filings. LLC Place files this application for every client and follows the case until the IRS letter arrives.

“No bank will open an account for a foreigner without a visa”

True for high street branches, false for banks built for businesses. A traditional branch often requires a physical visit. Mercury Bank, on the other hand, opens business accounts remotely for LLCs owned by non-residents, on presentation of the founder's passport, the company documents and the EIN. The account runs in dollars, with ACH and international wires, cards and a Stripe connection. Banking support is part of the LLC Place offer: the file is prepared in the right order, with the documents the bank expects.

“An LLC without a visa is necessarily taxed heavily in the United States”

False in the vast majority of cases. A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident is tax transparent: the company itself pays no federal income tax. As long as you have no employees, offices or dependent agent on US soil, your income is in principle not treated as effectively connected with a US trade or business, and it is taxed in your country of residence under its own rules. What remains mandatory each year is an information return: Form 5472 together with a pro forma Form 1120. LLC Place offers these filings as an option, 150 € per year for the two forms alone, or 398 € per year with a tax expert included, and they are part of the Pro and Founder plans.

The real procedure, step by step

Once the myths are out of the way, the path is linear. Here are the steps in the order they happen when you go through LLC Place, with what you do yourself and what we do for you.

Step 1: choose the state and the name

Wyoming, New Mexico and Delaware are the three states we recommend to non-residents, for the absence of state income tax on income earned outside their territory, their privacy and their administrative simplicity. You enter your desired name, your activity and the number of members in our questionnaire. We immediately check the name's availability with the state registry and flag restricted words before anything is filed.

Step 2: the registered agent and the business address

Every LLC must appoint a registered agent, a person or company located in the state who receives official mail, and have a US business address. This is the point that most often stops people who try alone: a personal address abroad is not accepted as a US business address. The registered agent and the business address are both included in the LLC Place offer from the first payment, there is nothing for you to look for or rent.

Step 3: filing the Articles of Organization

We file the formation document with the Secretary of State. Depending on the state and the time of year, registration takes from a few days to a few weeks. You receive the certificate of formation in your dashboard, then the operating agreement, the internal contract that sets how the company works. Banks and payment platforms ask for this document, and we draft it for you, in English, adapted to your situation.

Step 4: the EIN from the IRS

As soon as registration is confirmed, we prepare and send Form SS-4 to the IRS. This step requires no SSN, no ITIN and no travel. The timing depends on the IRS workload, usually several weeks. The confirmation letter is added to your file as soon as it arrives.

Step 5: the bank account and payments

With the certificate, the operating agreement and the EIN, your file is complete for Mercury Bank. The account is opened online, with identity verification by passport. Once the account is active, you connect Stripe or PayPal to your LLC and get paid in dollars by clients anywhere in the world. We guide you through the order of the steps to avoid refusals caused by an incomplete file.

Step 6: staying compliant every year

The LLC then lives at the pace of a few deadlines: the state's annual report where one exists, the renewal of the registered agent, and the Form 5472 information return due to the IRS by April 15. Your LLC Place dashboard reminds you of each date, and the filings option takes care of the submission to the IRS. All of this happens without a visa, without travel and without a lawyer.

To sum up what a visa does and does not bring, here is the table we show our clients.

Frequently asked questions

Can I form a US LLC with just a passport?

Yes. The passport is used to verify your identity when the bank account is opened. For the formation itself, the state asks the owner for no ID at all, only the company's details and its registered agent.

Do I have to travel to the United States at any point?

No. Filing the formation document, applying for the EIN, signing the operating agreement and opening the Mercury Bank account are all done remotely. Our clients form their LLC from Europe, Africa, the Middle East or Asia without ever travelling.

How long does formation take without a visa?

Your part takes ten minutes of questionnaire. Registration then takes from a few days to a few weeks depending on the state, followed by several weeks for the EIN from the IRS. The bank account opens within days once the file is complete. Not having a visa does not lengthen any of these steps.

Will the LLC help me get an E-2 visa later?

An LLC can serve as the vehicle for an investment, but the E-2 visa depends on a substantial investment, an eligible nationality and a real presence in the United States. It is a full immigration process, to be handled with a specialised attorney. Forming the LLC commits you to nothing and does not guarantee it.