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You've formed your LLC, and the bank asks for an EIN. Your U.S. accountant mentions you may need an ITIN. And an acquaintance assures you that without a Social Security number you can't do anything. Three acronyms, three different processes, and the feeling that everyone is asking you for a different number. The confusion is understandable, because all three identify you within the U.S. tax system. But they aren't interchangeable, and applying for the wrong one (or at the wro

You have the capital, the company is in the works, and all that's left, you think, is paperwork. But in an E-2 visa application, there's one document the consular officer scrutinizes closely and that many applicants put together last, in a hurry: the business plan. It's an understandable mistake in priorities. The investment feels like what matters most, because it's what costs money. But the officer can't see your business in operation; the only way they can picture it is th

You've found the right person to serve your clients in the United States, and you want to hire them. It looks like an HR decision: set the salary, the schedule, and a start date. But the moment the first paycheck goes out, your LLC or corporation becomes an employer in the eyes of the IRS and the state, and that brings a calendar of obligations that didn't exist before. Many Mexican companies operating in the U.S. hire first and find out later. The result is usually the same:

Your U.S. company is already generating revenue, the IRS has received its share, and you consider the tax year closed. Then your accountant in Mexico asks whether those profits are already on your return with the SAT, Mexico's tax authority, and you discover that the same income that was taxed in the U.S. also has to be reported in Mexico. Many business owners reach this point convinced that a foreign company “has nothing to do” with their tax situation in Mexico. It does, an

You've already opened your company in the U.S. Everything seems in order: you have your certificate of formation, your EIN, your bank account. But there's a worry that won't fully go away: the feeling that at some point in the process (choosing the state, filling out a form, deciding how to structure ownership) you may have made a mistake that hasn't surfaced yet, but will cost you when you least expect it. That worry is well founded. Mistakes made when opening a U.S. company

You've read three different versions of what it takes to qualify for the E-1 visa on three different blogs. One says all you need is a company formed in the U.S. Another insists you need a minimum investment, as if it were the E-2. A third mentions "substantial trade" without explaining what that means in real numbers. Now you don't know whether you qualify, whether something is missing, or whether you're about to spend time and money on a process that doesn't even apply to y

You filed your formation documents, got your EIN, and opened your bank account. Your U.S. company now exists on paper. But you're tracking expenses in a makeshift Excel sheet, mixing personal and business transactions "just for now," and somewhere in the back of your mind you suspect something is slipping through: a form, a deadline, a report you didn't know existed. That suspicion isn't paranoia. It's an accurate read of what bookkeeping for a U.S. company really involves wh

Someone told you to open an LLC because "it's the easiest thing to do." Another advisor recommended a C-Corp because "that's what everyone looking for investment does." And caught in the middle of these two options is you, knowing that if you choose wrong, you won't be able to fix it with a minor adjustment: you'll have to dissolve, reconstitute, or convert your entity, pay the formation costs again, and in some cases, generate a tax event you haven't even considered. That fe

You've spent weeks researching how to open an LLC in the US as a foreign owner, and every source tells you something different. One guide insists Delaware is the only real option. Another scares you with taxes "nobody explains." A YouTube video sells you a $99 service that promises to handle everything in 24 hours. None of that gives you clarity. It gives you more reasons to worry: signing something wrong, overpaying, or ending up with a structure that doesn't fit what your b