For businesses located outside the United States, expanding your business focus to the USA is a bold choice towards growth and success.

As you venture into the promising realm of the U.S. market, it's essential to be well-informed about the legal and other intricacies that come with it. In this blog post, we'll cover highlights of some of the topics discussed in our comprehensive white paper, “Legal Issues to Consider When Establishing a Footprint in the United States,” which outlines the most important and common issues that foreign business must attend to when making the move.

Understanding the U.S. Legal Structure

Establishing a business presence in the United States involves navigating a multilayered legal framework, comprising Federal, State, and local laws. Awareness of the interaction between different levels of jurisdictional oversight is essential to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. There are various areas where laws may overlap, such as employment regulations, tax obligations, and consumer protection laws, all of which can impact your business operations.

Choosing the Right Business Form

One of the first crucial decisions you'll face is selecting the appropriate structure for your U.S. operations. There are a number of  options available, including various limited liability entities, e.g., corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships.  The choices you could face include setting up a branch, creating a subsidiary, or forming a selling arrangement, distributorship or joint venture with U.S. partners. Each option offers unique advantages and disadvantages, from liability protection to tax considerations.

Complying with U.S. Employment Laws

Understanding and complying with the patchwork of federal, state, and local employments laws is paramount to safeguard your employees' rights and protect your company's interests. One concept that increases flexibility with employees in our environment is the principle of employment at will, which means that in most cases, employees without some type of express agreement may be terminated – with some exceptions.  The Company must also distinguish between independent contractors and employees.  The landscape is changing in several States about permissible non-competition clauses.

Attending to Details: Insurance, Tax, Immigration, Privacy, and More

Our white paper also delves into the most impactful topics for business setting up shop in the U.S., such as analyzing insurance coverage options, navigating complex tax systems, complying with immigration laws for foreign employees, ensuring privacy and data protection compliance and identifying State-level grant and support programs that can ease the work of “setting up shop”.

To discover the full spectrum of essential legal considerations for establishing your business footprint in the United States, we invite you to read our comprehensive white paper, “Legal Issues to Consider When Establishing a Footprint in the United States.” At Crowley Law, we are dedicated to guiding you through the intricacies of U.S. business expansion and helping your dreams of success in the U.S. market become a reality. For further assistance or to discuss your unique situation, please contact us here.

Let's embark on this exciting journey together!