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Do you need a US LLC before your first sale?
Usually not. Your first customer can pay you.
Form it when:
- a payment provider asks for a company
- clients want to pay a business, not a person
- business money keeps landing in your personal account
otoco.io/?utm_source=x&utm_m…
Some fintechs still ask every owner for an SSN or a US address. Read the signup page before you apply.
And approval is always the bank's call.
Step 1 is the LLC. Start here:
otoco.io/?utm_source=x&utm_m…
Check your country first.
Mercury's list goes by where you live, not your passport. Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam are on it.
Wise won't give USD details to a US business with an address in Nigeria, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon or China.
Wise Business: non-US owners show a photo ID, not an SSN. You'll need the EIN.
Your trading address must be a real place: office, co-working or home. No virtual addresses.
Note: Wise and Mercury are fintechs, not banks. Mercury runs on partner banks.
The address trap:
Mercury won't take a registered agent address, PO box or UPS Store box as your business address.
Your real home address abroad can work.
Your personal address can't be a mail drop or virtual address either.
Mercury says you don't need to be a US citizen or resident.
They ask for:
- your state-filed formation docs
- your EIN letter from the IRS
- a passport for each 25%+ owner
Your US operations can be existing or planned.
Step 1: Form a US LLC.
Step 2: Get an EIN. If your business is based outside the US, the IRS takes the application by phone, fax or mail.
Step 3: Apply to a business account that accepts non-residents.
Here's how to get a US bank account without an SSN.
For founders abroad, the SSN is rarely what stops you.
Your address and the country you live in are.
The path, plus the fine print most people skip:
Wyoming or Delaware? How to pick from outside the US:
Raising VC money as a C-corp? Delaware. Most investors expect it.
Solo LLC, not raising? Wyoming is usually simpler and cheaper. Its yearly state fee starts at $60. A Delaware LLC pays $400 a year.
otoco.io/?utm_source=x&utm_m…
The boring setup that saves founders later:
- Company in its own name, not yours
- Its own company ID number
- Its own bank account, nothing personal mixed in
- Ownership written down
- A note on who takes over if you can't
Most people stop at line 1. Which one are you missing?
A lot of founders outside the US form a US company for one reason:
They want to bank and get paid in dollars.
That is a normal reason. You do not need a US partner or a US visa to start.
Curious what else people think is required — reply with the weirdest "you must have X" tip you have heard.
Things people think you need to start a US company from abroad:
A US address. Myth.
A US visa. Myth.
A US partner. Myth.
What you do need: a company, a company ID number, and someone handling the filings.
What else did someone tell you was required?