RIVEROS CORP NETWORK | Apostille de la Haya · Notary Public Center · Compliance Officers · USJurisdiction
RIVEROS CORP NETWORK | Apostille de la Haya · Notary Public Center · Compliance Officers · USJurisdiction
We form your church or ministry in Florida, prepare the documentation the IRS expects to see and support the immigration process for religious workers. Three separate processes with three separate government bodies, explained in English or Spanish, and you don’t need to travel to the United States to get started.
Almost every problem that reaches us comes from mixing up these three layers or tackling them in the wrong order. They are independent: meeting the requirements of one doesn’t take care of the others.
This is where the entity is created. The nonprofit corporation is formed under Chapter 617, which lists “religious” among the permitted purposes (§617.0301). It’s a regulated process, and any person can act as incorporator (§617.02011). This layer covers the name, the address, the registered agent and the sworn Annual Report (§617.1622).
501(c)(3) exempt status is federal; Florida doesn’t grant it. And here’s the detail almost nobody knows: according to IRS Publication 1828, churches that meet the requirements “are automatically considered tax exempt and are not required to apply.” Other religious organizations do have to apply.
The EB-4 path for religious workers is a separate immigration process with its own requirements and timelines. It requires the organization to hold a currently valid IRS determination letter (its own or under a group exemption) and to prove that it exists and what it does, and that’s where having the first two layers in order really counts.
Order matters. §617.0202(2)(b) allows additional internal provisions to be included in the Articles of Incorporation, and that’s exactly where the IRS requirements go. If the entity is formed without them and later needs to request recognition, the articles must be amended first: more time, more fees and more paperwork for a paragraph that could have been there from day one.
These are the exact words people use when they first contact us.
It isn’t the same thing, and the difference affects both exemption and annual filings. It’s the first question to answer.
Almost always because the articles were filed without the provisions the IRS requires, not because of anything wrong with the project itself.
Minutes, policies, accounting books. Nobody asks for them until someone does, and then years of records have to be rebuilt.
Because nobody explained that these are three independent processes with three different government bodies.
It’s the most common oversight in small organizations with no administrative staff. It can be fixed, and there’s no deadline to request it.
Should you register the existing church here or create a new one? They are two different legal paths with different consequences.
And it isn’t clear what the organization has to prove, or how far back.
You can hire each one separately or combine them into a single process. Most organizations start with the first.
We form the nonprofit corporation under Florida Chapter 617, with the religious purpose stated and the articles prepared for the IRS from day one. Registered agent and EIN included.
Bylaws, the internal policies the IRS expects to see, minutes, a record of actions and the Form 1023 package for organizations that do have to request recognition.
The immigration path for ministers and religious workers, including what the organization must be able to prove about itself before you start.
The Internal Revenue Code uses the word church without defining it, and the IRS applies it in a generic sense: it also includes mosques and synagogues. But it draws a careful line between a church and other religious organizations, because special rules apply to churches.
This category also includes conventions and associations of churches and integrated auxiliaries. A church is automatically exempt if it meets the 501(c)(3) requirements, without having to apply, and it doesn’t have to file Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N.
Nondenominational ministries, interdenominational and ecumenical organizations, and entities whose main purpose is the study or spread of religion. As a general rule, they must request recognition from the IRS and file an annual information return.
Publication 1828 lists the traits the IRS and the courts have attributed to churches over time. It isn’t a checklist where every box must be ticked: the IRS considers a combination of them together with the facts and circumstances of each case.
An important and reassuring point: the IRS does not evaluate the content of the doctrine an organization claims as religious, as long as the beliefs are sincerely held by those who profess them and the associated practices and rites are not illegal or contrary to clearly defined public policy.
You tell us what the organization is, whom it serves, whether it already exists in another country and whether there’s someone you want to bring over. That gives us the map of the three layers.
We determine whether, for federal purposes, you are a church or a religious organization, and we review what already exists and its condition: entity, documents, reports.
We form the entity with the religious purpose and the IRS provisions built in, or we amend whatever needs amending.
Every exempt organization, including a church, should have an EIN even if it has no employees: it’s needed to open a bank account and to file returns. At the same time, we put together the documentation file.
The sworn Annual Report under §617.1622, the registered agent and the compliance calendar. That’s what prevents administrative dissolution.
It isn’t required to. IRS Publication 1828 says so expressly: churches that meet the requirements of section 501(c)(3) of the Code “are automatically considered tax exempt and are not required to apply for and obtain recognition of tax-exempt status from the IRS.”
Because recognition gives leaders, members and donors certainty: it confirms in writing that the organization is recognized as exempt and that contributions are generally deductible. Also, churches that haven’t applied don’t appear in the IRS’s public search tool for exempt organizations, and that matters when someone wants to check you out before donating.
It depends. The IRS reserves the term for churches, conventions and associations of churches, and integrated auxiliaries. Nondenominational ministries, interdenominational and ecumenical organizations, and entities whose main purpose is the study or spread of religion are classified as religious organizations, and as a general rule they do have to request recognition.
Yes. Florida Statutes §617.0301 expressly lists “religious” among the permitted purposes for a nonprofit corporation. It’s the chapter under which churches and ministries are formed in Florida.
No. §617.02011 provides that “one or more persons” may act as incorporator, with no nationality or residency requirement. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in Florida, and we can take on that role.
It’s a good idea. According to Publication 1828, every exempt organization, including a church, should have an employer identification number whether or not it has employees: it’s needed to open a bank account, to be listed as a subordinate in a group ruling and to file returns with the IRS.
Churches are among the organizations not required to file Form 990, 990-EZ or 990-N. The exception also covers interchurch organizations of local units of a church, church-sponsored mission societies when more than half of their activities are directed at people in other countries, and the exclusively religious activities of a religious order. Religious organizations that are not churches do file an annual information return.
It may. If the parent organization has a group ruling and includes you on the list it sends to the IRS, the church is recognized as exempt without having to do anything else. It’s worth asking the parent organization before starting your own application.
It’s a requirement specific to Chapter 617. §617.1622 requires the Annual Report of nonprofit corporations to be sworn, that is, made under oath, by both domestic corporations and authorized foreign ones.
Yes. §617.1420 through §617.1422 allow you to apply for reinstatement at any time, paying any applicable fees and late charges, with the signatures of the registered agent and an officer or director.
It would need a Certificate of Authority to conduct its activities in the state (§617.1501 and §617.1503). The law expressly excludes some situations, including internal meetings, maintaining bank accounts, interstate commerce and isolated transactions completed within thirty days or less.
Publication 1828 lists them: net earnings going to a private individual or shareholder, providing a substantial benefit to private interests, devoting a substantial part of its activities to influencing legislation, intervening in political campaigns for or against a candidate, and having illegal purposes or activities or ones contrary to public policy.
No. We prepare and file the paperwork, complete the forms with the information you provide and explain, in English or Spanish, what you are declaring. Tailored legal or tax advice belongs to a licensed attorney or CPA.
Tell us what the organization is, whom it serves and where things stand. We’ll send you the map of the three layers, with what each one is missing.
or call us at +1 (305) 647-3000 · Monday through Friday
175 SW 7th St, Suite 1905 · Miami, Florida 33130
The general version: foundations, associations and charities without a religious purpose.
LLC, corporation, nonprofit and PA: the full range of entity types.
EIN, registered agent, bank account and Annual Report.
Due diligence and document verification for counterparties.
