@davetechnosis - Keep in mind that you may have a tax obligation in the US if you go that route. The IRS makes determinations about alien taxation based on the following criteria. I would suggest consulting with a tax expert that deals with international business.

Hey, I have some sort of similar question, will try to find answer here before posting a new post. So, here I am.   Some Facts:   1. I own a software company out in India. 2. My company has a software product which we are selling in world-wide. 3. Our product's main market it US (Estimated sales of around 1000 copies a year with renewal :: approx $200,000 - $300,000 revenue annually). 4. In India, the product's are charged @ 10.2% service tax if I continue selling from here. 5. If I get some agent/company out in US who takes care of the revenue and send me back the same amount against maintenance work of the software, then I don't have to pay service tax. 6. If US company/agent pays my Indian company the full revenue against the custom work and maintenance work, then the US company will never be in profit and will never have to pay any taxes. 7. If I receive the $$ from US company, my Income Tax is also exempted, so 30% more saved.   Question:   1. I have a TrustWorthy friend out in US, can I make partnership/LLC with him being a non-us national myself? 2. Are there any taxes on licensed product sales?   Your inputs will be highly appreciated :)   Regards,   Dave.

Just wondering, but why do you have to be in the US to man a phone. If you get a phone number you can be anywhere in the world to answer it. JimD

Thanks Jim.. The information was useful. There seems to be a lot of formalities to register a business. I don't want to invest a fortune but I just wanted to have a virtual branch office in USA so my clients might call there and have their questions answered. We don't want any business activities there other then to have someone attending the phones.

Jim offers some good initial advice. If you are interested, the United States has congressionally endorsed programs that allow foriegners to accelerate US citizenship for individuals that start a business in the US and employ at least 10 workers. It would require an investment of 500K-1M dollars, but you can get an immeadiate greencard and citizenship within 3 years. This message has been edited to remove advertising. Please vist our Community Best Practices to find out more about the advertising rules.

sachinairan, Yes. An Indian company can have a branch office in the US. Please take a look at the business article Starting a Business in the US as a Foreign National. This should give you some of the background information. JimD