In general, investment in the United States will be in the form of a subsidiary. It is possible for a non-U.S corporation to operate a branch office in the United States, but there are significant disadvantages to a branch, particularly with respect to its tax treatment.
Branches of non-U.S corporations are not subject to federal regulation or registration requirements. However, each state will require a “foreign” corporation to “qualify” before “doing business” in that state. A corporation will be considered “foreign” if it is organized under the laws of another country or another state, and so this in not a requirement imposed only on non-U.S investors.
“Doing business” is a technical term that implies a substantial presence in the state. This would include the ownership of leasing of real property, the maintenance of a stock of goods for local sale, employee and the like. Selling products to local customers, either directly or through an independent sales representative or distributor, would not in itself constitute “doing business”.
The State actually exercise little control over the qualification process other than to ensure that the qualifying entity’s name is not confusingly similar to an already registered entity and that all registration fees and taxes are paid (qualification is basically a form of taxation). In most states, qualification for a non-U.S corporation consists of a relatively easy application, a registration fee, and a notarized of legalized copy of the corporation’s articles of incorporation (in English or a certified translation).
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一般而言，外国公司都是以设立分公司的形式在美国进行投资。然而，这种方式纵使可行，不足之处也非常显著，特别体现在所需缴纳的高额税款方面。
当某公司被视作为外国子公司时，就可以免受美国联邦规章制度的限制。但要想成为合格的一分子并享受此番待遇也并非易事，需要满足相应条件，即它需要遵守其它国家的规章，这也就是美国对外国子公司的定义。
在美国，公司开始营业被学术地称为“办公”，其标志一般是需要有办公区，货物储备以及工作人员等等。否则就未能达标。换句话说，无论是直接在本地售货，还是通过经销商或第三方代销都不算“办公”。
其实，美国检验这些外国子公司是否合格的流程相当简单，与此相比，检验公司名称的过程就及其繁复。必须确保没有重复或容易混淆的名字。因为保护已纳税的公司的商标名也是政府应尽的义务之一。在美国大多数州，检验外国子公司是否合格的流程相对来说比较简单，只要缴纳更名费，再用英文(或官方翻译)对公司商品合格证进行公证就可完成。
