If you are planning a U.S. business as part of an E-2, L-1, or EB-5 matter, one of the first practical items on your list will be an Employer Identification Number, or EIN. Many founders living outside the United States assume they cannot get one because they do not have a Social Security Number. That assumption is not correct, but the application does work differently for international applicants.
This article explains what an EIN is, why a new U.S. business needs one, and how the IRS application process works when the owner does not have a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. It also covers where an EIN fits in the sequence of setting up a business, and where the business-side pieces end and the legal questions begin.
What an EIN is
An Employer Identification Number is a nine-digit number issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to identify a business entity and establish its federal business tax account. It is written in the format 12-3456789 and is sometimes called a Federal Tax Identification Number. Corporations and partnerships need one, and LLCs generally need one when they have employees, are taxed as a corporation or partnership, or have certain other federal tax filing obligations. A single-member LLC with no employees and no such obligations may not be required to have a separate EIN for federal income tax purposes, although it may obtain one for other reasons, such as opening a business checking account. The IRS publishes a “Do You Need an EIN?” page that walks through these situations.
The name is a little misleading. You do not need to have employees to need an EIN. The IRS assigns EINs to entities that must show one on a return, statement, or other document, and in practice a new corporation or multi-member LLC will need one almost immediately for its tax account.
An EIN identifies the business, not the person. It is separate from a Social Security Number (SSN), which identifies an individual, and from an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which the IRS issues to certain individuals who are not eligible for an SSN. The IRS instructions are explicit that an EIN is for business activities only and should not be used in place of a personal SSN or ITIN.
Applying directly to the IRS for an EIN is free. Some third-party websites charge a fee to submit the application on your behalf; that fee goes to the website, not the IRS.
Why a new U.S. business needs one
Beyond federal tax reporting, an EIN is a working requirement for several early steps in starting a company. Financial institutions and financial technology account providers generally ask for the entity’s EIN when the business applies for a business checking account. Payroll, certain state registrations, and many vendor and payment-platform onboarding processes also request it.
For founders in business immigration matters, the EIN is often one of the items an attorney asks to have on file, alongside the state formation documents. What the EIN shows, on its own, is that the entity has a federal business tax account with the IRS. Whether and how it, or any other business document, supports a particular petition is a legal question for your immigration attorney, not something the number itself decides.
Do you need a Social Security Number to get an EIN?
No. Form SS-4, the Application for Employer Identification Number, asks on Line 7b for the SSN, ITIN, or EIN of the entity’s “responsible party.” IRS procedures state that a foreign responsible party who does not have, and is not eligible to obtain, an SSN or ITIN is not required to provide one to receive an EIN.
In practice, applicants in this situation typically write “Foreign” or “N/A” on Line 7b instead of a number. Which application route the entity then uses depends not on the missing SSN but on where the entity is based: applicants with no legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency in the United States or its territories use the international telephone, fax, or mail routes described below.
What you cannot do without an SSN or ITIN is use the IRS online EIN application. The online tool requires a valid U.S. taxpayer identification number and, according to the Form SS-4 instructions, is available only to applicants with a legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency in the United States or its territories. If you are outside the United States and have no U.S. tax ID, you apply by a different method.
Who the “responsible party” is
The IRS defines the responsible party as the individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity, or who exercises ultimate effective control over it. For a small founder-owned company, this is usually the principal owner. Unless the applicant is a government entity, the responsible party must be a natural person, not another company.
This matters for two reasons. First, the responsible party’s name and identifying number (or “Foreign” designation) go on the form. Second, the IRS limits EIN issuance to one per responsible party per day, across all application methods. If you are forming more than one entity, the applications need to be spaced out.
Who should be listed as the responsible party for a particular ownership structure can have legal and tax implications. That is a question for your immigration attorney and a tax professional, not something ISS advises on.
How the EIN application works for international applicants
According to the current Instructions for Form SS-4 (revised December 2025), there are four ways to apply: online, by telephone, by fax, and by mail. Only three of those are available to an applicant with no U.S. tax ID and no U.S. residence or principal place of business. The IRS also instructs applicants to use only one method per entity, so the business does not accidentally receive two EINs.
Applying by telephone
The telephone option is reserved for international applicants, meaning applicants with no legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency in the United States or its territories. The IRS instructions list the number as 267-941-1099, which is not toll-free, with hours of 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
The IRS recommends completing Form SS-4 before calling, because the representative walks through the form’s information to set up the account and assign the number. If the call is successful, the EIN is given during the call. The applicant writes the number on the form, signs and dates it, and keeps it for their records. If the representative asks for the signed Form SS-4, including any third-party designee authorization, it must be mailed or faxed within 24 hours to the address the representative provides.
Applying by fax
Under the IRS Fax-TIN program, a completed and signed Form SS-4 can be faxed to the IRS. The instructions state that if the application is complete and the applicant provides a return fax number, the EIN is generally faxed back within four business days. As of September 2026, the fax numbers for applicants with no U.S. legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency are 855-215-1627 from within the United States and 304-707-9471 from outside the United States. The IRS notes that these numbers can change without notice, so check the live instructions before sending.
Fax is often the practical middle path: it does not require a long international phone call, and it is considerably faster than mail.
Applying by mail
A signed paper Form SS-4 can also be mailed to the IRS. As of September 2026, the address for applicants with no U.S. legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency is Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999; confirm it against the live IRS “Where to File” page before mailing. The IRS advises applying at least four to five weeks before the EIN is needed and states that the number arrives by mail in approximately four weeks. For a founder on an immigration timeline, this is usually the slowest option.
What you need before you apply
Because Form SS-4 asks for information about the entity, the IRS instructs applicants not to apply until the entity is legally formed. For an LLC or corporation, a typical sequence is: register the entity with the chosen state, receive the state’s formation documents, and then apply for the EIN. The organizing step and paperwork differ for other entity types.
The form asks for the entity’s legal name, mailing address, the type of entity, the reason for applying, the date the business started or was acquired, and the responsible party’s information. Corporations are also asked for the state or foreign country of incorporation. If the entity’s address is outside the United States, the IRS instructs applicants to write out the city, province or state, postal code, and full country name without abbreviation. Choosing an entity type, a state of formation, and an ownership structure are decisions for the client to make with their attorney and tax advisor; ISS does not advise on them.
Common issues international founders run into
The most frequent problem is simply the online tool. Founders start the online application, reach the SSN field, and conclude they are blocked. They are not; they just need to use the phone, fax, or mail route.
A second issue is inconsistency between the state formation documents and the SS-4. The IRS instructs that the legal name entered on the form should match the name shown on the entity’s organizing document, including the entity designator (LLC, Inc., Corp.). Checking this before submitting saves a correction later.
A third issue is duplicate applications. Someone who calls and does not get through, then faxes, then mails, may end up with multiple EINs and a cleanup task. Pick one method and follow it through. If you have applied but not yet received the number by the time a filing is due, the IRS instructions describe writing “Applied For” and the application date in the EIN space.
Finally, keep the information current. The IRS requires changes to the responsible party to be reported on Form 8822-B within 60 days.
Where this fits in setting up the business side of an immigration matter
For many founders, the EIN sits between two other tasks: forming the entity and opening a business checking account. The entity comes first because the EIN application asks about it. The checking account typically comes after, because account providers usually ask for the EIN during the application.
ISS coordinates these business-side services in one place. Through our Business Entity Registration service, we facilitate your entity registration through a document-filing provider, and the service includes an EIN application with the IRS; after ISS signs the client and makes the introduction, the provider works with the client directly. Through our Business Checking Account Application Assistance, a dedicated ISS coordinator guides you through applying to open a U.S. business checking account for your entity; you do not need to be physically present in the United States, and the service is available to founders from most countries. The account provider is a financial technology company, not a bank, and the provider makes the final decision on any application. If your matter also calls for an Immigration Business Plan, ISS coordinates that as well.
ISS works alongside your immigration attorney, who remains responsible for all legal strategy and filings; we handle the business-side pieces. Whether your entity, EIN, or any other document meets the requirements of a particular visa category is a question for your attorney.
Frequently Asked Questions
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- Can I apply for an EIN before my company is registered with the state?
- The IRS instructs applicants not to apply for an EIN until the entity has been legally formed. For an LLC or corporation, that means the state has accepted the formation filing. Applying earlier risks an application that does not match the entity’s organizing document.
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- Can someone else submit the EIN application for me?
- Yes. Form SS-4 includes a third-party designee section that allows the applicant to authorize another person to receive the EIN and answer questions about the form. The applicant still signs the form, and the designee’s authority ends once the EIN is assigned and released. Whether to use a designee is your decision, and ISS does not prepare or file the form itself.
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- Does an EIN expire or need to be renewed?
- No. According to the IRS, once an EIN is assigned to a business entity it becomes that entity’s permanent federal taxpayer identification number and is not reissued to another entity. If the entity closes, the IRS can close the associated business account on request, but the number itself is not cancelled.
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- How quickly can an international applicant expect the EIN?
- It depends on the method. A successful telephone application produces the number during the call. A complete fax application with a return fax number is generally answered within four business days, and a mailed application takes approximately four weeks, according to the current IRS instructions. These are IRS estimates, not guarantees, and processing can vary.
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- Does having an EIN help my visa or petition?
- An EIN shows that the entity has a federal business tax account. Whether that, together with your other business documents, supports a particular immigration filing is a legal question for your licensed immigration attorney. ISS does not assess eligibility or predict outcomes.
Conclusion
An EIN is the IRS-issued number that identifies your U.S. business for federal tax purposes, and you can obtain one without a Social Security Number or ITIN. The online tool is not available to applicants without a U.S. tax ID, but the telephone, fax, and mail routes are, and the IRS’s own instructions describe how a foreign responsible party completes Form SS-4. Form the entity first, use one application method, match the legal name to your organizing document, and keep the IRS informed of changes.
If you would like help getting the business-side pieces of your immigration matter organized, including entity registration with an EIN application and business checking account application assistance, schedule a consultation now.
