Pre-Planning to access the US Market

Is your firm preparing to enter the US market as part of your expansion/growth plan? The temptation may be to start registering a domain name, and perhaps sending in employees from the existing company to get started.

Actually, the best plan is to
1. Incorporate a US subsidiary first, preferably in Delaware
2. Set up a US structure, first by registering your new company in the state where you want to actually conduct business, then open a bank account, infuse the company with initial capitalization as a mix of share capital and loans, and use this funding to create a viable US company.
3. If you will be sending management on a regular basis, do the set up using B1 visas, then after obtaining an office or other permanent base, apply for L-1 visas. The L-1 application process requires a documented permanent presence first.
4. Get your web domain foreigncompany.com set up, owned and paid for by the US company
5. Register your company name and product names as trademarks. Use of the names on a website generally counts as first use in business, a necessary step for trademark protection
6. Bring in any non-US management or other talent using the US company’s funding, not funding from abroad, unless they come for a short duration, or for a specific short-term project.

By following this strategy, you will avoid many of the tax and liability problems that come from doing business in the US as a branch of a foreign company.