Our customer had been running a successful business in Slovakia for over a decade, but he had hit the ceiling that most non-US founders eventually do. Payment processors that reject sign-ups without a reason stated. Banks that do not open accounts for foreign founders without a fight. Local bureaucracy that confuses and adds painful complexity to everything.
The platforms that global commerce runs on are built for US companies.
He wanted access to international payment rails and the credibility that comes with a real US business presence. A US LLC would solve all of that. The problem was his passport: he is Ukrainian, and Ukrainian citizens are flagged as high-risk by US banks. He tried on his own before reaching us and failed. Slovak citizenship was in progress, but that takes years and his business was not going to wait years.
The honest answer
When he submitted his eligibility check, we looked into it carefully. Ukrainian citizenship triggers blocks at our banking partner, so we could have formed the LLC, but a company without a bank account is a company on paper. We were upfront about the risks.
He thanked us for the transparency and said he would rather wait for the citizenship.
Fair enough, it seemed like the logical step, we could have stopped there.
What we did instead
He moved on… we did not.
His case stayed with us because of one detail: he was not living in Ukraine. He was a permanent resident in Slovakia, domiciled and working there for years. That distinction might matter to a bank.
So we asked. Wrote to our banking partner, laid out his situation, and asked whether residency changes the picture. A few days later, the answer came back: yes. Permanent residency with proof of address is enough — they would make the exception.
When we sent him the update, his answer reminded us why we are in this business:
“I truly appreciate your proactive approach and your care for the clients — it saves a lot of time and worry.”
From there, it moved fast
Wyoming LLC formed in two days. EIN received from the IRS in about three weeks. Bank account application submitted the same day the EIN arrived, and ten days later his US bank account was open.
“Everything is going well, thank you. The Mercury bank account has been opened.”
That is a man who started this process being told to wait years. He almost did.
Since then, we have built an automated process that allows us to submit banking applications before the EIN is even issued. The wait time is around 10 to 14 days. In two weeks from today you could have your US entity fully functional and cashing in your first invoice. Start your company now.
Client details anonymized. Timeline and communications are real.
If you are a non-US founder and you have been told your situation is too complicated, check your eligibility. We might see something others did not.