Delaware · Guide
The short answer: yes. You can form and fully own a Delaware LLC from anywhere in the world. No US citizenship, no residency, no Social Security number, no visa, and no trip to the US required. What you do need: a Delaware registered agent and an EIN. The actual filter is not the state, it is the bank, and we cover exactly how that filter works below.
Most answers to this question come from someone selling formation packages, registered agent subscriptions or bank accounts. That is not a scandal, but it shapes what they tell you: heavy on "start today", light on Form 5472 penalties, sanctions screening and why bank applications fail. This guide is the missing neutral version: what Delaware actually requires, what your citizenship actually changes, and the three traps that cost non-resident founders real money.
This is general information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. Formation rules and IRS procedures are official as of July 2026. Sanctions law is complex and changes fast; if you have any connection to a sanctioned jurisdiction or listed person, get specialist advice before doing anything. Confirm every fact with the primary source before you rely on it.
What you actually need (and what you don't)
Delaware's formation statute asks for three things on the Certificate of Formation: a company name, a registered office in Delaware, and a registered agent at that address. It does not ask who owns the LLC. Member names never appear on the public formation document, and the state never asks for your passport or your address.
Since you live abroad, you cannot serve as your own registered agent, so you hire one. Here is the full division of labor:
- A company name (checked against Delaware's register)
- Your passport details, for the agent's own compliance checks, not for the state
- A short business description
- Your home address and contact details
- Payment: $110 state fee plus the agent's fee
- A Delaware street address for the registered office
- Receipt of legal notices and state mail on your behalf
- Filing of the Certificate of Formation, if you use their formation service
- Forwarding of the stamped formation certificate
- Annual tax reminders (most agents)
- US citizenship or residency
- SSN or ITIN
- A US visa or any immigration status
- A US address of your own
- A trip to the US
- A US co-owner, manager or "local partner"
- Minimum capital of any amount
That last column is the headline. Delaware has no resident-director rule, no local-shareholder rule and no paid-up capital requirement. The whole state-level process is genuinely open to foreigners, which is exactly why the hard part has moved elsewhere: to the IRS paperwork and, above all, to banking.
The step-by-step mechanics, name rules, filing fields and processing times live in our guide to registering an LLC in Delaware. If you are still deciding between an LLC and a C-Corp, start with company types for non-residents instead, because that choice changes your tax paperwork significantly.
What your citizenship actually changes
This is the question almost nobody answers in writing, and it matters most to founders from Russia, Belarus, Central Asia and other "gray zone" passports. The accurate answer has two layers that people constantly confuse: the law, and platform policy.
Layer 1: the law (OFAC)
US sanctions are administered by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. As of July 2026, per ofac.treasury.gov, the structure looks like this:
- Comprehensive programs cover Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. US persons, which includes registered agents, formation services and banks, are broadly prohibited from providing services to persons ordinarily resident in these jurisdictions. If you live in one of them, US companies generally cannot serve you at all.
- Targeted, list-based programs cover everything else. The Specially Designated Nationals list names more than 17,000 specific people and entities; there are also sectoral measures against particular industries in particular countries. Russia and Belarus fall here, under programs including Executive Order 14024 and related authorities: extensive sanctions on listed persons, banks and sectors, but not a blanket prohibition on every citizen.
Two facts follow that the internet keeps getting wrong. First, there is no single "list of banned countries" for owning a US LLC. OFAC publishes programs and names, not a nationality bar. Second, holding a Russian, Belarusian or other gray-zone passport is not, by itself, prohibited under OFAC rules as of July 2026, provided you are not on the SDN list, not owned or controlled by listed persons, and not resident in a comprehensively sanctioned jurisdiction. Sanctions screening is done against the list, not against your passport cover.
Layer 2: platform policy (stricter than the law)
Here is the part that actually determines your experience. Registered agents, EIN services and especially banking fintechs each maintain their own restricted-country lists, and those lists are stricter than OFAC requires. They are commercial risk decisions, per platform policy, not OFAC rule, and they change without notice; there were significant restriction waves in 2024 and again in 2026.
Three practical patterns, stated carefully:
- Banking platforms generally screen on country of residence first, passport second. Where you live and can receive verification mail matters more than where you were born.
- A gray-zone passport holder with legal residence in a supported country, for example a Russian citizen resident in the UAE, Kazakhstan or Armenia, generally remains eligible to form the LLC and is assessed case by case for banking, often with extra document checks or a video call.
- A resident of a platform's restricted country will usually be declined automatically regardless of the merits, because the rule is applied by residence, not by individual review.
One more distinction worth naming: being able to form the LLC does not mean you will be able to bank it. Registered agents run their own screening too, but it is typically a check against the SDN list and the comprehensive programs, which most gray-zone founders pass. Fintech onboarding applies a second, tighter filter on top.
Plenty of founders clear the first gate, pay for formation, and only then discover the second one, which is why we recommend checking your banking eligibility before you form, not after. This is also the pre-check built into the Delaware formation package: eligibility is assessed against current platform policies before any money changes hands.
If you are reading this from a specific starting point, we keep dedicated, dated pages per origin: Delaware LLC from Russia, from India and from Nigeria walk the exact formation, banking and home-country layers for those passports.
We deliberately do not publish a per-platform country matrix on this page, because those lists move too fast to trust in a general guide. The maintained, dated, per-provider matrix lives in our business bank account guide for non-residents, which is where you should go once your LLC exists.
The EIN: the one federal step everyone needs
Every foreign-owned LLC needs an Employer Identification Number, the company's federal tax ID. Banks will not open an account without it, and the IRS filings below are impossible without it. It is free from the IRS, and you do not need an SSN or ITIN to get one; you need patience, because the online tool is closed to you.
| Method | How | Realistic timing |
|---|---|---|
| Online | Requires SSN or ITIN | Not available to most non-residents |
| Phone | +1 267-941-1099 (international applicants line), Form SS-4 in hand, EIN issued during the call | Same day |
| Fax | Form SS-4, line 7b marked "Foreign", to 304-707-9471 | About 4 business days, per the IRS |
| Form SS-4 to the IRS EIN operation | About 4 to 5 weeks |
On Form SS-4, line 7b, you simply write "Foreign" where an SSN would go. That is the entire secret that EIN resellers charge $50 to $250 to perform. Paying a service is a legitimate convenience if the phone queue and forms intimidate you; it is never a requirement.
The $25,000 trap: Form 5472
Read this box even if you skip everything else. A foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year, reporting "reportable transactions" with its foreign owner. Here is the trap: putting money in and taking money out counts. Your initial capital contribution, later top-ups and distributions to yourself are all reportable, so "my LLC had no US income, therefore I have nothing to file" is false and dangerous. The penalty is $25,000, plus another $25,000 for each 30-day period the failure continues after 90 days from IRS notification, with no upper cap, per the Form 5472 instructions (rev. December 2024).
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in the foreign-founder world, and it is barely mentioned by the pages selling you formation. The filing itself is not hard once you know it exists; the danger is purely in not knowing. What counts as a reportable transaction, how the pro-forma 1120 works, deadlines, and what the rest of your US tax picture looks like, including when you genuinely owe 0% federal tax and when you do not, is covered in depth in our guide to Delaware LLC taxes for non-residents.
ITIN: the tax ID you probably don't need yet
There is a persistent myth, widely repeated, that a foreign LLC owner "must have an ITIN". As of July 2026, that is wrong on both counts that matter:
- You do not need an ITIN to form the LLC. Delaware never asks for any tax ID from the owner.
- You do not need an ITIN to get the EIN. Form SS-4 explicitly accommodates foreign applicants without one, as shown above.
Where does the myth come from? Partly from multi-member LLCs with US-source income, where partnership withholding rules can genuinely require partner tax IDs, and partly from services with an ITIN product to sell. For the typical single-member, non-US-operating LLC this guide is aimed at, neither applies on day one.
An ITIN is a personal tax number, and you only need one when you personally acquire a US filing obligation: typically filing a 1040-NR because your LLC's income became effectively connected with a US trade or business, or claiming tax treaty benefits on US-source income. In that case you apply with Form W-7, usually attached to the very tax return that creates the need. Founders with no US filing obligation can run an LLC for years without ever holding an ITIN.
The practical order is therefore: LLC first, EIN second, bank third, and ITIN only if and when your tax situation demands it. Services that bundle an ITIN into every formation package are selling many customers a document they do not need.
Owning is not working: the visa question
The other big confusion, and the one with immigration consequences. Owning a Delaware LLC gives you a company, not a status:
- Ownership requires no visa. You can own 100% of a US LLC from abroad indefinitely, collect distributions, sign contracts remotely, hire US contractors and manage the business from your laptop in another country. That is ownership and remote management, and it is fine.
- Working inside the US requires status. The moment you are physically on US soil performing work for your company, even unpaid, you are in USCIS territory, and a tourist visa or ESTA does not authorize it.
- The LLC does not generate a visa. Forming a company confers no immigration benefit by itself. Investor and intracompany routes exist, E-2 treaty investor and L-1 transfers being the ones founders ask about, but those are separate USCIS processes with their own substantial requirements, and E-2 depends on your nationality being covered by a treaty. If immigration is your actual goal, you need an immigration lawyer, not a formation service.
Note the coherent picture: the US will happily take your company's franchise tax without ever letting you in the door. Ownership and presence are entirely separate systems.
What it costs, in two lines
The state charges $110 to form the LLC, and a flat annual tax of $300, rising to $400 starting with tax year 2026 under a law signed in May 2026, meaning the first $400 payment is the one due June 1, 2027. A realistic non-resident all-in, with registered agent, US mailing address and the optional extras, is itemized line by line in our Delaware LLC cost guide.
Banking: prepare before you apply, because retries are hard
Everything above is the easy 80%. The genuinely selective step is the US business bank account, and there is a dynamic the affiliate blogs never mention: with the fintech platforms most non-residents use, a rejection tends to stick. Applicant reports consistently indicate that a declined application is difficult or impossible to appeal for the same LLC, per platform policy rather than any law, and platforms rarely tell you which factor killed the file.
So treat your first application as your best shot, and only apply once the file is complete:
- EIN confirmation in hand (the CP 575 letter or a 147C replacement), not just "applied for".
- A live website that matches your stated activity, not a placeholder or parked domain.
- A real, non-virtual address history and an email on your own domain.
- A coherent, specific business description, written by you, consistent across the application, the website and your formation documents.
- Apply from a normal connection in your country of residence. A mismatch between your stated residence and your connection's location is a classic automated red flag.
Which platforms accept which residencies, realistic approval odds by founder profile, fees, deposit insurance and what happens if an account gets closed later: all of it is in the bank account guide.
Frequently asked questions
Can a non-US resident form a Delaware LLC?
Yes, with full 100% ownership. Delaware imposes no citizenship, residency or presence requirement; you need a Delaware registered agent and, in practice, an EIN. The state never asks for your passport, and member names do not appear on the public formation certificate.
Do I need a visa to own a US LLC?
No. Ownership and remote management from abroad require no US status. A visa only becomes relevant if you want to physically work in the US for the company, which is a separate USCIS matter that the LLC itself does not solve.
Do I need an SSN or ITIN to get an EIN?
No. Non-residents apply with Form SS-4, writing "Foreign" on line 7b, by phone (+1 267-941-1099, EIN issued during the call), by fax in about 4 business days, or by mail in 4 to 5 weeks. Only the online tool requires an SSN or ITIN.
Can citizens of sanctioned countries open a US LLC?
It depends on residence and listing status, not passport alone. As of July 2026, OFAC's comprehensive programs cover Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the occupied regions of Ukraine; residents of those jurisdictions generally cannot be served by US providers. Citizens of countries under targeted programs, such as Russia and Belarus, are not automatically barred by law if they are not SDN-listed, but individual platforms apply stricter private policies, usually based on residence.
Can I open a US bank account without visiting the US?
Usually yes, through fintech platforms that onboard remotely with an EIN, passport and formation documents. Traditional branch banks generally still want a US presence. Approval depends heavily on your country of residence and the quality of your file.
How much does a Delaware LLC cost for a non-resident?
$110 to form, plus a flat annual state tax of $300, rising to $400 from tax year 2026 (first $400 payment due June 1, 2027), plus $50 to $300 per year for a registered agent. A realistic first year all-in is a few hundred dollars more once mailing address and document logistics are included.
How is a non-resident-owned Delaware LLC taxed?
By default a single-member LLC is disregarded for US tax: no US federal income tax if the LLC has no US trade or business, but Form 5472 with a pro-forma 1120 is still mandatory every year, and your home country will usually tax the profits as your personal income. The full picture, including when 0% is real and when it is not, is in the tax guide.
Does owning a US LLC help me get a US visa?
Not by itself. No visa category is granted for merely owning a company. Investor routes like E-2 have their own requirements, including treaty nationality and a substantial at-risk investment, and are assessed by USCIS independently of your LLC.
Sources
- Delaware Division of Corporations: formation requirements and annual tax
- IRS: Form SS-4 (EIN for international applicants) and Form 5472 instructions
- US Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control: sanctions programs and SDN list
Delaware requirements and IRS procedures are official as of July 2026. Sanctions information summarizes OFAC's published programs as of July 2026 and can change quickly; banking platform policies are private commercial rules that change without notice. Verify your specific situation with OFAC's published guidance and a qualified advisor before relying on anything here.