How to start a company in the United States? It is surprisingly easy to establish a company in the United States. However, there is still the myth that you must have a Delaware corporation. My advice is to establish a company in the state where you really plan to do business. For example, let’s say you plan to live and work in California, then you should establish your business in California. Many years ago it may have been beneficial to have a Delaware corporation because the law was so clear, you know exactly what you are up against. However, today, it is heavier than useful. For example, for a business in Delaware, it must have an address in Delaware, it must have a registered agent in Delaware and I’ll get back to that. Also, let’s say someone is suing you and I’m sure you heard about all these lawsuits in the United States, if you have a business in Delaware, they can sue in Delaware while you can do business in California.

Establishing a company is a matter for each State. So the rules are different in the fifty states of the United States. Let’s go back to the California example. Let’s say you want to establish your business in California. The two basic options for companies are a Limited Liability Company, a so-called LLC or a Corporation. The basic differences are as follows:

A limited liability company has no shares. It has members, actual members who act on behalf of the company and own a part of it. A Limited Liability Company has a great advantage, which is the “Taxes”. It’s just the country’s tax ounce. Tax is paid through individual members’ tax returns.

The other important option is a corporation abbreviated Inc. Inc. A corporation can deliver shares, so it can be owned by many, many, many people. However, a Corporation basically pays taxes twice. You pay taxes on corporate income first, and then you pay taxes on all distributions and wages you pay.

Therefore, you have two basic options: a limited liability company or a corporation. You need more to have a successful business. Once you have registered the company, you must register it with the Internal Revenue Service. It’s called the Federal Employer Identification Number. It is very easy to apply for a federal employer identification number, which is the tax identification number or tax identification of the company. Just go to the website http://www.irs.gov, gov like Government and you will see the application forms. In fact, you can apply online and get the number right away.

There is something else you need, you need as I have already mentioned you need a registered agent. A registered agent is a person who is authorized to receive official mail generally related to lawsuits or any notice of the individual state in which you registered your business. It must have a person who is a resident of the State. If you don’t have someone, you can hire a company to do it for you. It is a registered agent service, there are many corporate service companies that provide those services. And you need an address for your business. If you don’t have an office set up yet, you can enroll in one of the so-called Corporate Presence Programs with an Executive Office Suite. An example is Regus is http://www.regus.com regus is regus.com. They provide a Corporate Presence Program at a very low price. It will probably cost you around $ 150 a month and you can receive mail and possibly phone calls in a particular location as well. In this case, we choose the California example.

To have a business that works properly, you must also have the so-called Corporate Book and Seal. The corporate book is basically a large folder, where you can keep all the corporate documents, such as federal employer identification number, state registration, and any other documents, such as corporate records, they are generally called minutes, such as the minute, sixty minutes to one hour, company minutes. Everyone can save that in this Corporate Book. Sometimes documents require a stamp, it is like a stamp that is placed on documents. You usually receive the Corporate Book and Seal from one of those Corporate Services Companies that I mentioned.

For visa purposes, it is also very important that you have a Business Plan for your company so, to review it, you have to set up your company. My recommendation is that you establish your company in the individual state where you want to do business, you must have an address, if you are not physically located in the United States, I recommend a Corporate Presence Program in one of the Executive Office Suites. And there are many more, not just Regus, you will find dozens of them throughout the United States. You need a Registered Agent, you need a Corporate Book and you need a Corporate Seal, all of that can be easily ordered through the Internet, if you just enter your search terms in Google or Yahoo, you will find many service providers that can provide you with all these services. If you want to use your company for visa purposes, such as an E-2 visa, you also need a Business Plan. A business plan must be comprehensive. It should be at least 20-30 pages. It should have photographs and it should also have charts that describe the financial goals of the business. There are companies that offer services like writing a business plan for you or your immigration attorney can do it for you. If you plan to use a business for visa purposes to obtain an L or E visa, you will probably need the advice of an immigration attorney.