The New York State Youth Leadership Council - The Non-Citizen’s Guide to Entrepreneurship

Sep 19, 2026

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Guidance for non-citizens in the U.S. seeking work and entrepreneurship despite immigration barriers and uncertainty around DACA and TPS. Provides background on oppression-related obstacles, frames the guide as a practical tool for entrepreneurs, workers, employers, and advocates, and emphasizes dignity, opportunity, and community resilience. Includes cautions that the content is not business or legal advice and suggests consulting experts. Sets out sections covering preparation, taxes, identification, banking, experience, business planning, structure, operations, and hiring.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPaper Templates

FormatPDF

Pages124

Reading Time43 min

AccessFree to download

INTRODUCTION

About This Guide

How This Guide is Set Up

Glossary

Information About Tax And Employment Forms

Introducing: A Few Non-Citizens

PREPARING TO BE A NON-CITIZEN ENTREPRENEUR

Forms Of Identification

Paying Taxes: ITINs & Social Security Numbers

Opening a Credit Union / Bank Account

Getting Experience and Making Connections

WORKING AS A NON-CITIZEN ENTREPRENEUR

Creating a Business Plan

Choosing a Business Structure

The Nuts And Bolts of Starting Your Business

Hiring People to Work for You

APPENDICES

The New York State Youth Leadership Council The Non-Citizen’s Guide to Entrepreneurship The U.S. is a country that was built using the labor, forced and voluntary, of many marginalized peoples; yet it has constructed roadblocks denying low-income Black and Brown folks access to the “American Dream.” We see this in our inhumane immigration laws, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the systematic barriers to re-entry for formerly incarcerated people. But communities have historically survived these systems of oppression, and this moment is no exception. Many would have us believe that now is a time of scarcity, but there is abundance: abundance of ingenuity, abundance of talent, and abundance of resources. We hope that through this Guide, we can signal to you the wealth of opportunities for dignified work that have been created and that we too can create. Acknowledgments This Guide was written under the guidance of Angy Rivera from the New York State Youth Leadership Council by New York University (NYU) School of Law Immigrants’ Rights Clinic (IRC) students Amy Joseph and Juan Martinez-Hill. The students were supervised by Nancy Morawetz, supervising professor of IRC in collaboration with Gowri Krishna, supervising professor of the New York Law School Nonprofit and Small Business Clinic, and Jillian Schroeder-Fenlon, supervising attorney with the NYU Business Law Transactions Clinic. We would like to thank the countless community members that served as the inspiration for this project and took time to lead us through this process, including but not limited to Marlene Berroa, Marleny Del Cid, Deyanira Del Río from the New Economy Project, Ligia Guallpa from Worker’s Justice Project (WJP), Molly Griffard from the Identity Documents Project, Carlos Martinez from Sunset Scholars, Gerardo Mendez Olivares, Susan Shin from the New Economy Project, Aldo Robledo, John Cheng, and Rebecca Suldan. We hope that this guide will serve as a useful tool for entrepreneurs, workers, employers, and advocates. This Guide was designed by Chi Nguyễn. Printed in 2019. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION 4 A. About This Guide 4 B. How This Guide is Set Up 8 C. Glossary 10 D. Information About Tax And Employment Forms 21 E. Introducing: A Few Non-Citizens 30 II. PREPARING TO BE A NON-CITIZEN ENTREPRENEUR 32 A. Forms Of Identification 32 B. Paying Taxes: ITINs & Social Security Numbers 38 C. Opening a Credit Union / Bank Account 48 D. Getting Experience and Making Connections 51 1) Working As an Employee 52 2) Working As an Independent Contractor Or Freelance Worker 59 3) Unpaid Internships, Volunteering, & School Credit 65 4) Working in a Workers’ Co-Op 68 III. WORKING AS A NON-CITIZEN ENTREPRENEUR 71 A. Creating a Business Plan 72 B. Choosing a Business Structure 73 C. The Nuts And Bolts of Starting Your Business 89 D. Hiring People to Work for You 103 APPENDICES 109 3 Introduction About this Guide Whom this Guide is for: In today’s political climate, it can feel tough to plan your life as a noncitizen if you either don’t have legal status in the U.S. or are worried that you might lose your status. Specifically, you might think that your work options are limited, or you might not like the options you see. Either way, this Guide is here to help provide all non-citizens, regardless of status, with an idea of the possible work and entrepreneurial options available, including if: ● you do not currently have legal status in the U.S. because you came to the U.S. without a visa, overstayed a visa, or do not have legal status for another reason; ● you have DACA or TPS but are worried that you might lose that status; and/or ● you have an immigration status that gives you work authorization and does not restrict the type of work you can do in the U.S. 4 A few notes about DACA and TPS Although DACA and TPS are two distinct forms of immigration relief, they have some things i

FAQs

Who is this guide intended for?

Non-citizens in the U.S., regardless of status, including people without legal status, those with DACA or TPS, and those with work-authorizing immigration status.

What do DACA and TPS have in common in this guide?

Both provide a work permit, and neither directly makes you eligible for a green card or citizenship.

Does the guide provide business or legal advice?

No. The guide states that nothing should be construed as business or legal advice and recommends consulting business or immigration experts for specific questions.

Sep 19, 2026

Upload by Mia