Sources and evidence
Research Methodology
How Foreign Founder distinguishes officially verified data, legacy estimates, source research, and documented testing.
Last Updated: July 20, 2026
Research Scope
Foreign Founder researches US entity formation, state filing obligations, selected tax topics, banking, credit, and services relevant to non-US founders. Coverage varies by topic and jurisdiction, and a published page should not be read as a complete compliance checklist.
Primary Sources
We prefer official forms, instructions, fee schedules, agency pages, statutes, and first-party provider documentation for claims those sources directly support. Source access dates matter because requirements and commercial terms can change.
Official State Sources
State requirements marked officially_verified include a recorded verifiedAt date and official source links tied to particular fields. That label applies only to the identified data and does not mean the entire state guide received legal review.
Federal Sources
Federal topics may use IRS, FinCEN, SBA, or other responsible-agency materials. Readers should follow the current agency publication or obtain professional advice when federal rules affect their circumstances.
Financial Product Information
Product pages, pricing, eligibility criteria, and provider terms are the preferred sources for product-specific claims. Availability and approval decisions are controlled by the provider and can differ by applicant, jurisdiction, and time.
Fee and Date Verification
Verified fees and schedules are stored as structured fields with source and status information. Calculators should use only machine-readable verified schedules for exact dates. Other state values may remain legacy estimates and should be confirmed with the state.
Verified Official Data
A verified field has an official source, a verification date, and a defined meaning such as online formation fee, actual periodic filing fee, or filing frequency. It should not be generalized to fees or obligations outside that recorded scope.
Legacy Estimates
Legacy estimates are historical project values that have not yet been rechecked individually against current official sources. They may still be shown for comparison with a verification-pending label, but should not be treated as confirmed current amounts.
Hands-On Testing
The repository does not currently contain a complete evidence set showing that every compared service was purchased and tested. We therefore do not describe the site's product coverage as comprehensive hands-on testing. A future hands-on claim should record the test date, environment, plan used, price paid, limitations, and observed results.
Claims We Do Not Make
- That every article or data point has been reviewed by a lawyer, CPA, or other expert.
- That every state value has completed official verification.
- That a bank account, card, financing product, tax outcome, or filing result is guaranteed.
- That every product mentioned has been personally purchased or tested.
Update Frequency
Pages are updated when material changes are identified or when a planned verification pass is completed. There is no fixed update interval for every page, so readers should use publication, update, and field-level verification dates as separate signals.
Known Limitations
Source pages can change, provider terms may vary, and automated checks cannot establish legal correctness. For consequential decisions, verify the current official source and consult an appropriately qualified professional. Questions or evidence can be submitted through the Contact page.