Can a Non-US Resident Open a US LLC? Answers to Common Questions

Can someone who does not live in the United States, and is not a US citizen, own and form a US LLC? Yes. An LLC is a structure created under state law, and the IRS says most states do not restrict ownership, so members may include individuals, corporations, other LLCs and foreign entities. The main legal limit is US sanctions law.

Owning an LLC gives you a US company and nothing beyond that. It does not give you the right to work in the United States, it does not change your tax residency, and it does not get you a bank or payment account. This FAQ covers the conditions behind each of those answers. For the step-by-step process, see how to open a US LLC as a freelancer from Egypt.

Quick summary

• Delaware and Wyoming LLC law sets no citizenship or residency test for owners, and the IRS says most states do not restrict ownership.
• US sanctions are the main restriction. OFAC, the Treasury office that administers them, can block people and companies, and some programs cover dealings with a whole country whether or not anyone is listed.
• Owning an LLC is not permission to work in the United States, and it does not make you a US tax resident.
• You can get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN. A foreign-owned single-member LLC is a disregarded entity for income tax by default, and it files Form 5472 for any year with a reportable transaction.
• Banks and payment providers decide for themselves. An LLC and an EIN do not guarantee approval.

Who can own and form a US LLC

Do I have to be a US citizen or resident?

No, under the two state laws checked here. Delaware's LLC Act defines a member as a person admitted to the company, and a person as a natural person, partnership, LLC, trust or other individual or entity. Neither those definitions nor its rules on admitting members set a citizenship or residence condition. The only residence rule in these provisions concerns who may act as a registered agent.

Wyoming works the same way. Its LLC Act lets a "person" become a member, and Wyoming's definition of a person includes an individual, partnership, corporation or other entity. Neither provision turns on citizenship or residence. The IRS's wording is "most states", so if you are considering another state, check that state's own statute.

Does the state approve me as an owner?

No, in the two states checked here. Forming an LLC is a filing, not an application about you or your plans. Delaware's certificate of formation sets out the company name and its registered office and agent. Wyoming's articles of organization ask for the company name, the registered agent, the company's mailing and principal office addresses, and an organizer's signature. Neither asks for the owner's nationality or residence.

The practical check before filing is the name. Wyoming and Delaware both require it to be distinguishable on the Secretary of State's records.

Can I be the only owner?

Yes. The IRS says most states permit single-member LLCs, and Wyoming's Act provides for a company with one member at formation. How a one-owner LLC is taxed is a separate question, covered below.

Do I have to travel to the United States?

Not for the filing or the EIN in the sources checked here. Wyoming's instructions offer online filing or paper filing by mail. Its LLC Act says the organizer and the sole member "may be, but need not be, different persons", and an organizer who is someone else acts on the member's behalf. International applicants can apply for an EIN by phone, fax or mail. A bank may set its own requirements, which is a separate matter.

Do I need a US address or an SSN?

Delaware and Wyoming do not require a US home to own an LLC, and the EIN route below works without a Social Security number. The company does need a registered agent, the person or business that accepts legal papers for it, at a physical address in the state.

In Wyoming, PO boxes, drop boxes, virtual addresses and mail forwarding locations do not qualify as a registered office, and an individual acting as their own agent must live in Wyoming. In Delaware, an individual agent must be a Delaware resident, and business entities can also serve. An owner living abroad therefore needs an agent in the state. What a registered agent does and whether you need a US address go further on both points.

So what can actually stop me?

Mainly US sanctions. They are federal rules administered by OFAC, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and they apply whatever a state's LLC law says.

OFAC says all US persons must comply, including anyone in the United States and US-incorporated entities. Expect a US bank, a US registered agent and your US LLC to sit on that side of the line. Non-US persons can also be barred from certain conduct, such as causing a US person to violate sanctions.

US persons are generally barred from dealing with people and companies on the SDN List, OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals. The same FAQ says some sanctions block categories of people who are not on the list, giving most Cuban nationals as an example, and that an entity owned 50 percent or more by blocked persons is blocked too.

OFAC also says its programs can be comprehensive or selective. A program can reach a country rather than a listed person: Iran's rules, for example, bar US persons from supplying services to Iran. So nationality or location can matter here, depending on the program. If you think a listing or program could touch you or a co-owner, check OFAC's Sanctions List Search and get legal advice before going further. A clean search does not settle it, because some programs cover people who are not on the list.

What owning a US LLC does and does not do

Area	What ownership gives you	What it does not give you
Company	A company formed under US state law	A US home or office
Immigration	Nothing	A visa or permission to work in the US
Tax status	A company with its own filings	US tax residency or an exemption
Banking	Company documents to apply with	An approved account

Can I work in the United States because I own an LLC?

No. Company ownership and immigration status are separate. Under federal law, a non-citizen is unauthorized for a US job unless they are a lawful permanent resident or authorized for that employment, and knowingly hiring an unauthorized person for employment in the United States is unlawful. Owning the company is not on that list. A nonimmigrant may work only as their status or a grant of permission allows, and unauthorized employment is a failure to maintain status.

A business visit is narrower than working. For visitor visas, the regulation defines business as conventions, conferences, consultations and similar commercial or professional activities, and says it "does not include local employment or labor for hire".

These rules concern work in the United States, so they do not stop you running the company from your home country. If you plan hands-on work during a US trip, speak with an immigration lawyer first.

Does owning an LLC make me a US tax resident?

No. A non-citizen is a nonresident alien for US tax purposes unless they pass the green card test or the substantial presence test. The substantial presence test counts days in the United States: at least 31 in the current year and 183 over a weighted three-year period. Neither test looks at company ownership.

These answers cover US rules only. Your home country may tax the income or require you to report a foreign company, and an LLC does not change that. Check it with a local adviser.

The EIN and US tax

Can I get an EIN without an SSN?

Yes. An EIN is the federal tax number the IRS assigns to a business. The Form SS-4 instructions tell a responsible party who does not have, and cannot obtain, an SSN or ITIN to enter "foreign" or "N/A" on line 7b. The responsible party must be an individual, not a company. Applicants with no US presence cannot use the online application, so they use phone, fax or mail.

The IRS says most new single-member LLCs will need an EIN, and Form SS-4 has a specific entry for a foreign-owned LLC requesting one to file Form 5472. An EIN identifies the company. It is not an immigration document or a personal tax number. Applying for an EIN without an SSN covers the form and the route.

How is a foreign-owned single-member LLC classified for tax?

"LLC" is a state-law form. Federal tax classification is a separate question. By default, the IRS treats a single-member LLC as a disregarded entity, meaning it is ignored as separate from its owner for income tax, though it still counts as separate for employment tax and certain excise taxes. It can elect corporate treatment on Form 8832.

An LLC with two or more members is a partnership by default. S corporation status is closed, because an S corporation may not have nonresident alien shareholders. LLC vs S Corp vs C Corp explains what those choices change.

Will I owe US income tax?

That depends on the activity, not on the LLC existing. A disregarded LLC's income is treated as yours, so the question falls on you as the owner. A foreign person engaged in a US trade or business generally has effectively connected income, meaning income connected with that business. It is taxed at graduated rates, and a nonresident alien with a US trade or business files Form 1040-NR. Other US-source income can be taxed at a flat 30 percent or a lower treaty rate.

Where the work happens matters. The IRS says foreign persons are generally engaged in a US trade or business when personal services are performed in the US, and Publication 519 says services at any time in the tax year usually count. Do not assume occasional US work falls outside this. There is no blanket answer here, and an LLC is not an exemption. The US LLC tax guide gives an overview, and a cross-border tax adviser can apply it to your facts.

What does the LLC have to file?

Separate duties sit with separate authorities:

• IRS information return. A foreign-owned disregarded LLC has no income tax return requirement, but it must file Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120 for any year with a reportable transaction. Money moving between you and the LLC counts, including contributions, distributions and amounts connected with formation. The stated penalty for failing to file is $25,000. See the Form 5472 guide.
• State filings. Annual reports and state taxes differ by state. The annual compliance calendar lists the recurring dates.
• FinCEN. As of November 2026, US companies are exempt from beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. An LLC formed in a US state files no BOI report, whoever owns it. BOI reporting in 2026 explains who still reports.

Banks and payment providers

Will an LLC and an EIN get me a bank account or Stripe?

Not by themselves. They let you start an application, and each institution decides. US banks must run a customer identification program with risk-based procedures for verifying identity, including procedures for when a bank should not open an account. Those procedures reflect each bank's own risks, so requirements and answers differ from one to the next.

Providers set their own conditions too, as of November 2026:

• Mercury's terms say it is a fintech company rather than a bank, and that it shares customer information with its banking providers to determine eligibility.
• Stripe's US account page says a registered business must be registered in the US even if you operate in another country. It lists the EIN, an SSN or ITIN and a business address among what it verifies, and it asks for the physical location where most of your business activity happens, not a PO box.

So an EIN is not the whole list, and a registered agent's address is not automatically the address a provider wants. Before applying, read opening a US business bank account from Egypt, what Mercury requires and getting Stripe with a US LLC. US business banking terms explains the vocabulary those applications use.

Next steps

1. Check every owner on OFAC's search tool, and check whether a sanctions program covers their nationality or location. Get legal advice if anything looks close.
2. Choose a state. Wyoming, Delaware and New Mexico compared sets out the differences.
3. Follow the formation steps, from the state filing to the EIN, or the freelancer walkthrough if you freelance from Egypt, then prepare your documents for a bank application.
4. Put the recurring filings in your calendar, and speak with a tax adviser about your home country.

Foundlie's US formation service covers LLC formation in the state you choose, the registered agent for year 1, the EIN application and follow-up with the IRS, an Operating Agreement, and your formation documents through a private portal, along with business bank guidance (Mercury, Relay) and Stripe and PayPal readiness. It does not include bookkeeping, US tax returns or annual reports, and it cannot guarantee approval from any bank or payment provider. The pricing page lists current options, and you can contact us with questions.

This article provides general educational information and is not legal, tax, immigration or banking advice. Rules and provider policies change; check the current source or consult a qualified professional for your situation.