31 CFR § 800.224 - Foreign person.
(a) The term foreign person means:
(1) Any foreign national, foreign government, or foreign entity; or
(2) Any entity over which control is exercised or exercisable by a foreign national, foreign government, or foreign entity.
(b) Any entity over which control is exercised or exercisable by a foreign person is a foreign person.
(c) Examples:
(1) Example 1. Corporation A is organized under the laws of a foreign state and is engaged in business only outside the United States. All of its shares are held by Corporation X, which solely controls Corporation A. Corporation X is organized in the United States and is wholly owned and controlled by U.S. nationals. Assuming no other relevant facts, Corporation A, although organized and operating only outside the United States, is not a foreign entity due to § 800.220(b) and is not a foreign person.
(2) Example 2. Same facts as the first sentence of the example in paragraph (c)(1) of this section. The government of the foreign state under whose laws Corporation A is organized exercises control over Corporation A because a law establishing Corporation A gives the foreign state the right to appoint Corporation A's board members. Corporation A is a foreign person.
(3) Example 3. Corporation A is organized in the United States, is engaged in interstate commerce in the United States, and is controlled by Corporation X. Corporation X is organized under the laws of a foreign state, its principal place of business is located outside the United States, and 50 percent of its shares are held by foreign nationals and 50 percent of its shares are held by U.S. nationals. Both Corporation A and Corporation X are foreign persons. Corporation A is also a U.S. business.
(4) Example 4. Corporation A is organized under the laws of a foreign state and is owned and controlled by a foreign national. A branch of Corporation A engages in interstate commerce in the United States. Corporation A (including its branch) is a foreign person. The branch is also a U.S. business.
(5) Example 5. Corporation A is organized under the laws of a foreign state and its principal place of business is located outside the United States. Forty-five percent of the equity interest in Corporation A is owned in equal shares by numerous unrelated foreign investors, none of whom has control. The foreign investors have no formal or informal arrangement with any other holder of equity interest in Corporation A to act in concert regarding Corporation A. Corporation A can demonstrate that the remainder of the equity interest in Corporation A is ultimately held by U.S. nationals. Assuming no other relevant facts, Corporation A is not a foreign entity or foreign person.
(6) Example 6. Same facts as the example in paragraph (c)(5) of this section, except that one of the foreign investors, a foreign national, controls Corporation A. Assuming no other relevant facts, Corporation A is not a foreign entity due to § 800.220(b), but it is a foreign person under paragraph (a)(2) of this section because it is controlled by a foreign national.