How to open a US LLC as a non-resident: the complete path, step by step
You don't need a visa, a Social Security Number or a US address to own a US company. What you do need is to do things in the right order — because half the problems people bring me were born from skipping a step that costs little at formation and a lot to fix later.
🌐 También en español: Cómo abrir una LLC en USA siendo extranjero
What you need — and what you don't
To form a US LLC as a non-resident you need: a passport, a business purpose you can explain in one sentence, and a registered agent in the state. You do NOT need: a visa, an SSN, an ITIN, a US address of your own, or a plane ticket. Anyone selling you those as requirements is selling you something extra.
The path, in order
1 · Choose the state for YOUR case. Selling online from abroad? Wyoming is the natural default — cheap, private, no state income tax. Physical operations or property in one state? Form there. Raising venture capital? Delaware. (The full comparison is in its own article on this blog.)
2 · Hire a registered agent. A legal requirement in every state: the official address where lawsuits and state notices arrive. Never a mailbox store — and renew it every year, because a lapsed agent can cost you the LLC without you noticing.
3 · File the Articles of Organization. The document that creates the company. From this moment on, the company name must be EXACTLY consistent everywhere — banks reject applications over a missing comma in "LLC".
4 · Sign a real Operating Agreement. The internal contract: who decides, how money moves, what happens if a member leaves or dies. Banks ask for it, and for single-member LLCs it's key evidence that the company is separate from you.
5 · Get the EIN — no SSN needed. Non-residents apply with Form SS-4 (fax works best in practice). Keep the IRS confirmation letter (CP 575) forever: banks and platforms will ask for that exact document, not "the number written somewhere".
6 · Open the bank account. Mercury, Wise Business and Relay accept non-residents fully online. Approval is about consistency: identical names across documents, a coherent address, and a business explainable in one sentence.
The part nobody sells: the calendar
A foreign-owned LLC files Form 5472 + a pro forma 1120 every April 15 (penalties start at USD 25,000 for skipping it), renews its state annual report and its registered agent. Set four phone alarms the day the LLC is born — it takes ten minutes and prevents five-figure penalties.
The mistake that summarizes all the others
Buying the USD 99 formation and assuming everything else "comes included". The cheap formation files one document and stops: no Operating Agreement, no EIN letter in your hands, no tax calendar, no banking file. Those unasked questions come back later as bank rejections and IRS penalties — and fixing them costs multiples of doing it right the first time.
📄 Take this with you as a PDF
This article is also a free printable guide: The complete non-resident LLC formation checklist.
Your specific case?
Everything above is the general rule — real cases live in the details. In a 15-minute consultation (USD 29, credited toward any service) we review your situation and you leave with a concrete next step: book here →