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Can you register a US company from India without a visa or US partner?
Yes. You can form and own a US LLC or C-Corp from India, and you need no visa, no SSN, and no US co-owner to do it. Company formation is a state-level act, not a federal one, and US states do not restrict foreign ownership of an LLC or corporation [2][4].
Quick Answer: A non-US resident can register a US company from India entirely online. You file with a state Secretary of State, appoint a registered agent with a US street address, and get an EIN from the IRS by fax or phone. No visa, SSN, or US partner is required. Banking and Indian-side tax rules are the parts that need real attention.
Immigration status and business ownership are separate things. Owning a US company does not give you a visa, and it does not require one. A B1/B2 visitor visa and an LLC share nothing except the word "US" in front of them.
The one hard limit sits in the tax code, not in company law. A non-resident alien shareholder cannot elect S-Corp status for a US corporation. That leaves you two realistic structures: an LLC (a limited liability company, the flexible pass-through vehicle) or a C-Corp (a corporation taxed at the entity level, the standard for venture funding).
"Register" here means filing Articles of Organization (LLC) or a Certificate of Incorporation (C-Corp) with a state Secretary of State. The federal government does not create the company. The IRS only enters later, to issue your EIN.
Which US business structures can a non-resident Indian actually own?
An LLC or a C-Corp. Both are fully ownable from India. S-Corp is off the table for you, full stop.
LLC. This is the default pick for solo founders, agencies, SaaS, and e-commerce. A single-member LLC owned by a non-resident is a disregarded entity for US tax: the IRS ignores it as a separate taxpayer and looks through to you. That keeps admin light, but it creates a specific filing duty (Form 5472) that we cover below.
C-Corp. You choose this when you plan to raise from US venture funds. Delaware C-Corps are the standard template investors expect, and the structure handles stock options and priced rounds cleanly. The cost is double taxation: the company pays corporate tax, and dividends to you are taxed again.
One caveat worth flagging rather than asserting: whether Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS) exclusions apply to non-resident C-Corp shareholders is a live tax question. Ask a US tax professional before you build a plan around it.
| LLC | C-Corp | |
|---|---|---|
| Open to non-residents | Yes | Yes |
| Default US tax | Pass-through / disregarded (single member) | Entity-level corporate tax |
| Investor fit | Poor for VC, fine for bootstrapping | Standard for US VC |
| Compliance load | Lighter, plus Form 5472 | Heavier: board, minutes, payroll |
| Formation cost | State fee, lower end | State fee, higher end |
If you are chasing a US VC round, form a Delaware C-Corp. If you are selling services or products and want the simplest path, a US LLC for Indian founders is the better fit.
What can be filed online from India, and what genuinely cannot?
Most of it is remote. The honest split looks like this.
Fully remote:
- State formation filing (online in every major state)
- Registered agent appointment
- EIN via IRS Form SS-4 by fax or phone
- Annual state reports
- Federal tax returns prepared and e-filed by a CPA
- Traditional US bank account opening, which usually needs in-person or video KYC and a US phone number
- Some state filings that require a US mailing address
- Notarized or apostilled documents, which need an Indian notary and then apostille from the MEA
Not fully remote:
The EIN is where people stall. The practical route for an Indian resident is Form SS-4 by fax, with the phone option for international applicants. The IRS responds with the EIN, and if the number goes missing you request a 147c letter (the IRS notice that confirms your EIN in writing). Getting an EIN without an SSN from India is a paperwork exercise, not a legal barrier. For a walkthrough, see getting an EIN as a non-US resident.
Do you need a US address or registered agent to form the company?
Yes. Every state requires a registered agent: a person or company with a physical US street address (no PO boxes) in the formation state, available during business hours to receive legal mail and service of process. This is the one unavoidable US touchpoint.
Say your LLC is formed in Wyoming but you live in Pune. A customer sues. The court serves papers on your registered agent, who scans and forwards them. Miss that chain and you lose by default judgment without ever knowing a case existed.
Commercial registered agents charge roughly $50 to $300 a year. Keep three addresses separate in your head:
- Registered agent address: for legal service, required, public in most states.
- Business mailing address: where you receive ordinary mail.
- Virtual office: a rented address for presence, not a legal substitute for an agent.
A US address does not, by itself, make you a US tax resident or create a permanent establishment. That is a tax-law question, not a mail-forwarding one.
How do you get an EIN from India without an SSN?
File IRS Form SS-4 and request the EIN. No SSN or ITIN is required for the entity.
The fields that trip up Indian applicants:
- Responsible party: the individual who controls the entity. You. Put your Indian address. Leave the SSN/ITIN field blank and write "Foreign" or "N/A" where the form allows.
- Reason for applying: "Started new business" or "Banking purpose."
- Entity type: check the correct box for a single-member LLC, multi-member LLC, or corporation.
- No-SSN notation: write "Foreign" in the SSN field rather than leaving it ambiguous.
Timelines vary. Fax submissions historically run weeks, not days. The phone route is faster when it works, but hold times are real.
An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a separate thing. You do not need one just to own an LLC. You need one when you personally file a US return, for example to claim a treaty benefit on US-source income. If that is your situation, how to apply for an ITIN covers Form W-7.
Opening a US bank account from India: what is realistic?
Fintech business accounts are the realistic remote route. Traditional US banks usually want you in a branch or on a video call with a US phone number.
Mercury, Relay, Wise Business, and Payoneer all publish remote onboarding for non-US founders. As of early 2026, their published requirements typically include the EIN, formation documents, a passport, and a description of your business. That is a claim about their own process, not a promise to you. Approval stays their decision, and they do reject applications.
Imagine you apply to Mercury with a brand-new Wyoming LLC, no website, and a Gmail address. You get a request for more information, then a decline. A clean domain, a one-page site describing what you sell, and a US phone number (a VoIP number is enough for most fintechs) change that outcome more than any bank hack does.
| Fintech (Mercury, Relay, Wise, Payoneer) | Traditional US bank | |
|---|---|---|
| Remote onboarding from India | Yes, online | Rarely |
| US phone number needed | Sometimes | Usually |
| In-person visit | No | Often |
| FDIC insurance | Varies by programme | Yes |
| Fit for Indian founders | Best first option | Only with US presence |
Do not put your entire runway into one account. Open a second option once the first is live. If you later need a brick-and-mortar relationship, in-person US bank account help explains what that requires.
What ongoing US filings does an India-based owner owe each year?
A state annual report or franchise tax, a federal tax return, and (for a foreign-owned single-member LLC) Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120. Miss the 5472 and the penalty is $25,000. That is not a typo.
Form 5472 reports transactions between your LLC and its foreign owner. Even a single capital contribution or expense payment counts. The pro forma 1120 is filed only to carry the 5472. This is the most commonly missed filing for Indian-owned LLCs, and it applies even when the LLC earned nothing.
Heads-up: the 5472 is due with the return, and the penalty applies per form, per year. A CPA who handles foreign-owned LLCs costs far less than one missed year.
State-level, Delaware charges an annual franchise tax and Wyoming charges a lower annual report fee.
On BOI (beneficial ownership reporting under the Corporate Transparency Act): the rules changed, and reporting for companies formed in the US was narrowed in 2025. Foreign-owned entities registered to do business in the US are the group most likely still in scope. Check FinCEN directly before you assume you are exempt.
How do Indian tax and FEMA rules interact with a US LLC?
This is the part almost nobody explains, and it matters more than the US side.
An Indian resident remitting capital to a US company does so under the RBI Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) through an AD (authorised dealer) bank, and the investment is treated as Overseas Direct Investment (ODI) under FEMA. ODI has reporting obligations, including the ODI/FC forms filed through your AD bank. Skipping them is a FEMA contravention, not a rounding error.
Then there is POEM: Place of Effective Management. If your US LLC is effectively managed from India, Indian tax authorities can treat it as an Indian tax resident. A one-person LLC run from Bengaluru, with you making every decision, is exactly the fact pattern that raises this.
Suppose you form a Wyoming LLC, run it from Hyderabad, and pay yourself nothing. No US return seems necessary to you. Two years later you have an unfiled 5472 in the US and a POEM question in India. Both are fixable, both are expensive, and neither was on your formation checklist.
This is not DIY territory. Engage an Indian CA who has handled ODI and POEM, plus a US tax preparer for the 5472 and 1120. For the US side, federal tax support for Form 5472 and Form 1120 is where those filings live.
Common mistakes Indian founders make in the first year
- Skipping Form 5472 on a foreign-owned single-member LLC. The $25,000 penalty applies even to a dormant company.
- Treating a fintech account as guaranteed. Applications get declined. Build a clean website and a US phone number before you apply.
- Choosing Delaware for a solo LLC. Delaware is right for VC-backed C-Corps. For a one-person consulting LLC, it adds franchise tax you do not need to pay.
- Ignoring FEMA/ODI and POEM until an Indian tax notice arrives.
- Using a friend's address or a PO box as your registered agent. Legal mail goes missing and you lose cases by default.
- Missing the annual report deadline. States can revoke or void the entity, and reinstatement costs more than the original filing.
- Assuming a US company gives you a US visa or residency. It does neither.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I register a US company from India without visiting the US? Yes. State formation, the EIN, and most filings are fully remote. Banking and some KYC steps need a US phone number or agent, not travel.
Do I need an SSN or ITIN to form a US LLC from India? No. Neither is required to form or own an LLC. You get an EIN through Form SS-4 by fax or phone.
Can a non-resident Indian own a US C-Corp? Yes. C-Corp ownership is open to foreign persons. S-Corp is the one structure closed to non-resident alien shareholders.
What does it cost to register a US company from India? Separate three buckets: state filing fees (check the current official fee for your state), registered agent fees (roughly $50 to $300 a year), and recurring compliance and tax preparation. Government fees and provider fees are not the same number.
Will I owe tax in India on my US LLC? Possibly. POEM rules can make an India-managed US LLC an Indian tax resident, and FEMA/ODI applies to your investment. The outcome depends on ownership, where decisions are made, treaty relief, and entity classification. Talk to an Indian CA.
Can I open a US bank account from India? Fintech accounts such as Mercury, Relay, Wise Business, and Payoneer are the realistic remote route. Traditional US banks usually need a US presence. Approval is always the provider's call.
Where to start
Pick your structure before you pick your state. Solo founder selling services: LLC, Wyoming or New Mexico. Raising US venture money: Delaware C-Corp. Then appoint a registered agent, file the SS-4, and get the 5472 on your calendar for year one.
If you want help with US LLC formation, EIN and business setup, NexFyla can assist. Start with US LLC formation for non-residents or check NexFyla pricing before you commit.
*Last updated: February 2026.*
Related reading
- Can You Form a US LLC From India? What Actually Works
- Best Way to Register a US Company from India: A Framework
- How to Register a US LLC from India: Step by Step
Ready to act on this? US company formation takes the filing, registered agent and paperwork off your desk.