United States

Separate market access from personal relocation

A business can need U.S. customers, payment infrastructure or banking without its owner wanting to live in the United States. Equally, a family may want to move for opportunity, education or relationships even when the move increases tax. Start by defining which connection you actually need.

An entity, an account, a visa and a green card solve different problems. None should be presented as a complete international structure on its own.

The owner’s status changes the analysis

U.S. citizenship and tax residence can bring worldwide-income reporting. Non-U.S. owners instead need to examine U.S. activities and income, the entity’s classification and applicable reporting. Federal and state rules are separate layers.

The practical work includes where services are performed, who owns stock and intellectual property, where inventory sits, which parties sign contracts and what employees or agents do. A state chosen for incorporation does not make those facts disappear.

Moving in—or moving out

E-2 is a treaty-investor nonimmigrant route for a qualifying operating business. EB-5 is a distinct immigrant-investor route with capital and job-creation requirements. Neither should be confused with buying immediate U.S. citizenship.

For a U.S. citizen leaving the country, a new residence abroad generally does not end federal citizenship-based taxation. Long-term green-card holders should also investigate expatriation rules before abandoning status or taking treaty positions.

Use the country for the right purpose

• Operations: match entity, contracts, payroll and state obligations to the activity.
• Banking: assess the institution and account rather than relying on the word “U.S.”.
• Residence: coordinate immigration with pre-arrival tax planning.
• Departure: distinguish physical relocation from ending citizenship or long-term tax residence.
• Family: account for education, health coverage, citizenship and estate consequences.

Turn the separate pieces into a working plan

Our role is to understand the whole arrangement and help put the agreed pieces in place. That may mean a narrowly scoped formation or banking engagement, or a broader project involving several countries and local specialists.

Three different uses of the United States

A foreign entrepreneur can use a US entity to contract with customers, a US account to hold or move money, or an immigration route to live and work in the country. These are distinct decisions. Forming an LLC does not grant a visa, while receiving a visa does not choose the right entity or determine its tax treatment.

The design must identify the owner’s nationality and residence, the company’s tax classification, where services are delivered, where employees and inventory sit, and the rights needed for the owner to work. A state registration is only one part of that factual picture.

An LLC is a legal form, not a zero-tax rule

Federal classification depends on ownership and elections. A single-member eligible entity is commonly disregarded by default; a domestic multi-member LLC is commonly a partnership by default, while corporate treatment can be elected. Those classifications change who reports the income and which filings apply.

A foreign-owned disregarded entity can still need Form 5472 attached to a pro forma Form 1120 for reportable related-party transactions. Contributions and distributions can be reportable even when sales are small. The owner’s country may classify the LLC differently and may tax its income under residence, attribution or anti-deferral rules.

Source and business activity decide the nonresident analysis

For personal services, the IRS generally looks to where the work is performed, not where the customer, contract or payment account is located. That can make the result for a consultant working entirely abroad different from a founder or team performing work in the United States.

A nonresident’s effectively connected income is analysed separately from US-source fixed or determinable passive income. The latter can face 30% gross withholding unless an exemption or treaty reduction applies. State registration, income tax, payroll and sales-tax obligations require their own review; a federal conclusion does not settle every state.

Moving to the US changes the owner’s tax scope

US citizens and resident aliens generally enter the worldwide-income system. Residence can arise through the green-card test or the substantial-presence test, with exceptions and treaty issues. The substantial-presence calculation is weighted across three calendar years, not simply a six-month rule for the current trip.

Before the move, review foreign companies, trusts, retirement accounts, investment funds and unrealised gains. An arrangement efficient for a foreign nonresident can become inefficient or reporting-intensive after US residence begins. Immigration counsel and the cross-border tax team should agree the sequencing.

Banking and estate planning deserve separate decisions

A US bank account can provide access to dollar payment infrastructure, but a fintech interface and an insured bank deposit are not the same thing. Check the legal account holder, institution, deposit coverage and payment functions required by the business. Ownership and funds evidence must fit the activity.

A nonresident who is not a US citizen can have estate-tax filing exposure from US-situated assets. The IRS identifies a USD 60,000 filing threshold for the relevant gross estate; that is not a universal allowance or a statement that every asset below it is risk-free. Direct US shares and property require particular review.

Current transparency rules and the continuing filing burden

FinCEN’s August 2026 final rule removes Corporate Transparency Act reporting for US-created entities and US persons, while relevant foreign reporting entities remain within the revised regime. This change does not repeal IRS information returns, state requirements or bank identity checks.

For a serious international business, the useful output is a recurring compliance schedule: entity returns, owner returns, related-party reports, state renewals, registered-agent service and account reviews. Offshore Capitalist can coordinate the formation and operating setup after the intended use and tax treatment have been established.