| ---Preface--- I have no experience (or advice) on the immigration piece. I have no experience with LLCs or any other non-corporation entity. I have formed and have been using Corporations for many years with a lot of success. ---Ownership Advice--- Do not try to get you ownership in your name. Get your ownership in the name of another company that you own. Here's the structure: 1. You own a Nevada or Florida Sub-Chapter S Corporation 100% (called Aniketm Corp). 2. Aniketm Corp owns X% of Company Y (the startup). The legal structure of Company Y is irrelevant, but I would recommend a Sub-Chapter S Corp (most legal protection for the owners, most favorable tax treatment, very low IRS audit rate). It costs $100 to form a corporation (http://www.amerilawyer.com) and about $100 per year to maintain. Anybody (including foreigners) can own a corporation. This ownership structure gives you an extra layer of protection because you have an additional corporate veil between yourself personally and the startup company. Don't let forming a corporation scare you. It's pretty simple and low-risk. |