Well thanks for that info. It doesn't sound very good. I haven't been able to find a single "foreigner" who has been able to set up a US business (as the "principle", or majority owner) in the last few weeks.
As for some of the questions...
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what is your lawyer telling you about the definition of a 'presence' in the United States? I've read some opinions that it means you have some employees, ...
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Still waiting for word from CCBill as to what Visa and the acquiring banks consider to be a "presence", but we have been assuming it may mean:
1. A US company with a head office address and at least one "contract employee" - easy enough to do through a full-service LLC agent.
2. A Tax ID Number for that business - turning out to be time-consuming and tricky as I said, if you, the principle owner are not American.
3. A US business bank account corresponding to 1 and 2. Many Nevada banks will no longer open accounts for businesses owned by foreigners, but we have found two. One requires that the owner show up in person to set up the account (sign the card).
But the big unknown is as Petr said, that Visa USA may even require that the principle owners be American. If that is the case then even 1, 2, AND 3 are not enough, and it is game over for Canadian internet entrepreneurs who are looking for a stable longterm billing solution, as according to CCBill and others, there is no acquiring bank in Canada that will back high-risk merchants.
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Canadian government failed their entrepreneurs. It is ridiculous that banks in Canada cannot provide high risk merchant accounts.
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Could not agree more. Canada is the worst country in the world if you are a small-business owner or consumer advocate - both are considered nothing but trouble-makers up here. The US congress talks all the time about consumer/small-biz issues such as fraud, spam, anti-trust activities, and yes, credit cards and banking. In Canada this stuff is not even on the radar screen. It's aboriginal rights, socialized medicine and universal access to marijuana. As a result, our financial institutions are not so much banks as they are public relations firms.