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Ask HN: opening a company in US (for non US citizen)

6 points by middayc ↗ HN
Hi. I am porting one of my products to US market. If possible and no too expensive I will open a company in US for it. I am not from US and I am from a country where flying to US is quite an expense so I would have to think trice about it, if that would be the requirement. Can I ask the following:

- Can a non US citizen open a company in US without physically going there (I heard you have to go to sign for a bank account)

- Are services like this a legit and smart way to open a company in this case, if not what can you recommend http://www.myuscompany.com/

- By reading about this I now understand LLC or C corp is a form of company most appropriate for startups?

- Any other thoughts on this subject?

thanks, I love Hacker News community, Janko

4 comments

[ 4.3 ms ] story [ 22.1 ms ] thread
hga
It's a pity that Slovenia doesn't have a well established "brand" as a nation in the US; if so, you wouldn't necessarily have to set up an US subsidiarity (since those who know about Slovenia by and large think well of it).

Anyway, however you get set up, I wish you luck!

middayc
Slovenia is a small country. Even some people much closer than US aren't that aware of us. Zemanta is one of the few startups from here, that is making some news.

I have many projects and I plan to split them to multiple companies. So I would open additional companies anyway. If US option will be accessible, I see it more as another interesting experience than anything else.

Thanks for good wishes, and kudos for knowing where/what Slovenia is :)

algul
You don't have to be a U.S. citizen or resident to form a corporation in the United States. You could do so yourself, but it might be easier to use an attorney. Take form Articles of Incorporation, send with a check to the Secretary of State in most states along with 3 name choices (in case yours is taken by the time you send the paperwork in). You need to nominate a registered agent for service of process, there are companies that will do this. Your initial address can be a Regus ($200 per month or so, and they will forward mail). You can get a tax id number over the telephone. Whether you can open a bank account depends on your relationship with the bank. Normally, this will be very, very difficult unless the bank is a branch of a bank where you already have a relationship. For now, just use paypal. You want to file an election as a Subchapter S corporation, at least initially, so you don't get taxed twice. LLC and C are apples and oranges, the first is a type of corporation, the second is the tax treatment. An LLC can be a C or an S. I should post the forms, it's not rocket science.
rach
So can a non- US citizen / non-Green card holder start a company in US? Or are you only referring to opening a branch / US office of a foreign company?