One of the important factor that needs to be considered before of formation of
an US LLC is that the ability to get the visas to travel to the United States
from India and open an bank account for the LLC in the United States that one is
planning to form. It is needless to say that opening a United States bank
account will make further things easy to start a business in United States and
do business with organizations based in US.
However, it is to be noted that, formation of an LLC in United States does not
provide authority and visa to work in United States. Further, once a bank
account is opened, and then the next step will be to choose the state of LLC,
Formation of LLC, A physical mailing address in United States, and a Employee
Identification Number (EIN).
The details of the procedure have been provided
below:
Steps to Form an LLC in United States
According to the US laws, It is not mandatory that a person who is forming a
Limited Liability Company( LLC) must be a citizen of United States or a US
company. In simple words, foreign companies and citizens are also eligible to
form and LLC in United States.
The following are some of the steps for formation of LLC owned by a
foreigner:
- Selection of a State
- Choosing the Name of the LLC
- Hiring a Registered Agent Service
- Filing of LLC with the State Selected
- Creation of an LLC Operating Agreement
- Getting an Employee Identification Number (EIN)
- Obtaining a Physical Mailing Address in United States
- Opening a Bank Account in United States
- Selection of a State
While considering the state for formation of LLC in United States, the best way
is to first pay attention to if the business will have a physical presence or
office in that specific state. If the answer is yes, it is advisable that the
LLC should be formed in that particular state. This ultimately helps to avoid
the need to register the LLC as a foreign LLC and appointment of registered
agents in different states.
However, if the business does not require the aforesaid physical need then
it is advisable to form the LLC within states that is without taxes, so that
the business can handle only US federal taxes.
The following are some of the
states that must be considered:
Choosing a Name for LLC
Every state in the United States has their own set of rules regarding the
selection of names that are allowed for LLCs. Generally, the following
guidelines need to be followed while choosing a Name for LLC;
- The name should include the phrase "Limited Liability Company" or any of the
abbreviations such as LLC or L.L.C
- The name must not include words that can lead to confusion for the LLC with an
Government Agency such as State Department, Treasury, FBI and etc.
- Restricted words must not be used. Some of the examples of the same are
University, Bank, and Attorney etc. These words may be required some official
paper work and a licensed person like lawyer or doctor to be a part of LLC.
- It is mandatory to check if the URL is available. It is recommended that to
check if the name of the business is available as a web domain. Although, there
is no plans to have a website presently but the same can be required in future.
Thus, it is advisable to buy the URL in case it is available to make sure that
no one can acquire it later.
Hiring a Registered Agent Service
A registered agent is required to elect for formation of an LLC in the United
States while forming an LLC. Most of the states must nominate a registered
agent for formation of an LLC. However, the registered agent must be a resident
of that specified state in which the business will be carried on.
A registered agent is a person who involves itself for sending and receiving of
legal documents on the client's behalf. These legal documents include legal
summons, official documents and document fillings etc.
Filing of LLC within the Selected State
For filling an LLC officially, the documents need to be filled with the state.
One of the common and important documents of this process is Articles of
Organization which is also referred as Certificate of Organization or
Certificate of Formation. The formation documents will mention the structure of
the business.
Creation of an LLC Operating Agreement
In most of the States in United States, an operating agreement is not needed.
However, it is advisable to have one. An operational agreement refers to a legal
document containing the details of operating procedure and ownership of the LLC.
Getting an Employee Identification Number (EIN)
It is compulsory to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN), which is
necessary for tax purposes. The EIN will be considered as the Tax ID for the
LLC. A Individual Tax Identification Number (ITIN) or US Social Security Number
(SSN) or a mailing address of United States is not required to get an EIN.
However, the aforesaid identification numbers are required for IRS's online
process of application to obtain an Employer Identification Number. There are
various other options for non-residents business owners who can submit the
application by mail or fax.
Obtaining a Physical Mailing Address in United States
A physical address in the state chosen is required as it is important to open a
bank account in that specified state. Opening a physical office in the state in
which the business will be formed is a way to get a physical mailing address.
On the other hand, if a business does not need to open a physical office, still
the business needs a mailing address in the state of the LLC. Some of the
services such as Earth Class Mail can help to set up a mailing address in the
United States that is required to open a bank account in United States.
Opening a Bank Account in United States
Opening a Bank account in the United States is one of the complicated parts of
the process for the formation of LLC in United States. For the same, bank visit
is required as according to the money laundering laws of United States, banks
need to know their clients. This suggests that travelling to United States is
required and visas are needed to do so. Opening a Business Bank account can be
done once the formation of LLC is done and Employee Identification Number is
received.
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