legal, united-statesI am a cofounder of a startup company based in Europe. Our current legal status is private entrepreneurs. All of us being US non-residents, we consider it valuable to establish a branch in the US (possibly in Texas, but we’re open to any option actually). Unfortunately the subject is quite complex to investigate for beginners like us.
Can someone please provide an outline of necessary steps required, and list possible pitfalls? Some references would be much appreciated as well.
If the question is improperly stated or does not fit within this site, please let me know.
Thanks!
A few States are more popular than others when forming a company. Whichever you pick, the only real piece of advice worth offering in my opinion is: don’t do this alone. There are plenty of online company formation services that will take care of the administrative BS for you. Use one. They’ll be cheap compared to the time you’ll spend researching and executing the steps yourself. Plus, they’ll all either provide you with accounting services or refer you to an accountant who knows the local tax laws.
That being said, think twice about your decision. The main reason you’d want to open a branch in the US is if you need a US-based office with employees. If it’s just about selling there you’re just as well off operating out of where you are and filing the occasional IRS forms as needed. (Get an accountant or a tax attorney based in the US, as things change constantly.)
Each state has it’s own process, manage by the Secretary of State’s office. For Texas this is http://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/formationfaqs.shtml
This site will allow you to check that the name you want to use is not taken. see: Name Issues. Then, read: Can I file a certificate of formation online?
An LLC has ‘members’ rather than ‘shareholders’ but they are the same thing. An LLC can have a corporation as a member. Some other US company forms cannot.
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