US LLC registration for non residents
US LLC registration for non residents is open to almost anyone. No citizenship, no residency, no visa, no Social Security Number and no trip to the United States. What stops people is never the registration — it is the two things that follow it: getting the EIN without an SSN, and the federal return a foreign-owned LLC owes every year even when it earned nothing.
Book a strategy call — we tell you which state fits, what it costs and how long it takes before anything is filed. See what each package includes.
US LLC registration for non residents: what you actually file
Three documents and one appointment, in this order:
- Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State. Names the company, the state, and the registered agent. Filed online in most states.
- A registered agent in that state. A legal requirement, not a service upsell — the state needs an address in its own jurisdiction where it can reach you. As a non-resident you cannot be your own.
- An operating agreement. No state asks to see it. Every bank does, and so does every payment processor once the amounts get serious.
- The EIN, on Form SS-4. This is the step that takes the time.
The EIN is where the weeks go
The IRS online EIN application requires a US taxpayer number, so a non-resident founder cannot use it. The application goes by fax or by post instead, and the wait runs to weeks rather than the same afternoon. Nothing about this is a problem to solve — it is simply the path, and the only real mistake is not starting it early.
You do not need an ITIN to get an EIN. The two get conflated constantly. See how to get an EIN without an SSN.
Which state, and why it matters less than you have been told
If you have no US premises, staff or inventory, you generally have no state-level tax nexus anywhere, so the choice comes down to running cost and filing burden. Wyoming and New Mexico are the cheapest credible options. Delaware is built for companies raising venture capital and is usually the more expensive answer to a question you are not asking.
If you hold inventory in a US warehouse or hire there, that changes and the state becomes a real decision rather than a cost comparison.
What it costs
Year one is the state filing fee, the registered agent, and the US address. Every year after is the annual report, the agent renewal, and the federal filing. The state fees are public and small; what varies is whether you do the filings yourself and how much your time is worth when one of them is late.
What nobody can promise you
This is the part most pages skip, so it is worth being direct about.
- No one can guarantee you a bank account. The bank decides, after the company exists. Anyone promising an approval is describing an application.
- Registering the LLC does not make you tax resident anywhere, and it does not remove you from the tax system of the country you live in.
- It does not give you a visa, a green card or the right to work in the US. Owning a company and being allowed to work in it are separate questions.
- The company is not invisible. Beneficial ownership is reported, and every bank asks who owns it before it opens anything.
The annual return that catches people out
A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident is a disregarded entity for US federal tax, and it owes Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year — even at zero revenue, even with no US income, even if the company did nothing at all. The penalty for missing it is $25,000.
That is the single most expensive thing a founder does not know about US LLC registration for non residents, and it is why "I formed it myself for $100" is sometimes an incomplete sentence.
Doing it yourself versus having it done
Filing the articles is genuinely easy and you should not pay much for that alone. The case for having it handled is the sequence: the EIN going out the same week the company is formed, the operating agreement written the way a bank wants to read it, the address and agent in place before the bank application rather than after a rejection, and the 5472 on a calendar rather than in your memory.
If what you want is only the entity, say so on the call and we will tell you whether you need us.
Common questions
Can a non-resident own 100% of a US LLC?
Yes. There is no citizenship or residency requirement for LLC ownership, and no minimum US ownership. A single foreign owner is the common case.
Do I need to visit the United States?
Not to register the company. Every step of formation is done remotely. A visit sometimes helps with a traditional bank later, and that is a banking question rather than a formation one.
How long does the whole thing take?
The company itself: days. The EIN without an SSN: weeks. Plan around the EIN, because the bank account waits on it and so does almost everything else.
Do I owe US tax on the profits?
It depends on whether you are engaged in a US trade or business, not on where the company is registered. Many non-resident owners with no US presence owe no US income tax and still have to file. See whether a foreign-owned LLC pays US tax.
Next step
Price on request. Book a strategy call — we confirm the state, the sequence and what it costs before anything is filed. See what each package includes, or read the rest of the services.
Related
- Best US bank account for non residents — the step that waits on the EIN
- US LLC for non resident cost — year one and after
- US credit profile service for EU founders — what the entity is the first step of
- US company formation with a bank account — both halves done together
Sources
Founders Credit is not a law firm, an accounting firm or a bank. State filings are lodged by licensed providers, federal returns are prepared by licensed preparers, and bank decisions rest with the bank. We prepare the application; we do not promise the outcome.