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How to Buy a House in the US

By wikihow

Many people dream of home ownership but it mandates homework, legwork and considerable effort on your part to ensure that the process goes as smoothly as possible, and you don't bite off more than you can chew. Here's how to make your dream become a reality. This article assumes you will be using a lender.



Steps

Buying a House in the US Strengthen your credit. The higher your FICO score, which ranges from 300 to 800, the better rate you'll qualify for. Get a free copy of your credit report so you can see what the lenders see on your credit history. Pay off credit cards and resolve any credit disputes or delinquencies. Determine how much house you can afford, and how much you'll likely be able to borrow.

You will be expected to put down 10-20% of the appraised value of a home.[1] (Note that the appraised value may be higher or lower than the selling price of the house.) If you have $30,000 saved for a down payment, for example, you can use it as a down payment for a home between $300k (10% down payment) or $150k (20% down payment). Putting down less often, but not always, requires you to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI), which increases your monthly housing cost but is tax deductible. Find out what ratios lenders are using to determine if you qualify for a loan. "28 and 36" is a commonly used ratio.[2] It means that 28% of your gross income (before you pay taxes) must cover your intended housing expenses (including principal and interest on the mortgage, as well as real estate taxes and insurance). Monthly payments on your outstanding debts, when combined with your housing expenses, must not exceed 36% of your gross income. Find each percentage for your monthly gross income (28% and 36% of $3750 = $1050 and $1350, respectively). Your monthly payments on outstanding debts cannot exceed the difference between the ($300) or else you will not be approved. Calculate your expected housing expenses. Estimate the annual real estate taxes and insurance costs in your area and add that to the average price of the home you'd like to buy. Also add how much you can expect to pay in closing costs. (These take in various charges that generally run between 3 to 6 percent of the money you're borrowing. Credit unions often offer lower closing costs to their members.) Put the total into a mortgage calculator (you can find them online or make your own in a spreadsheet. If the figure is above 28% of your gross income (or whatever the lower percentage used by lenders in your situation) then you will have a hard time getting a mortgage. Determine whether you need to sell your current home in order to afford a new one. If so, any offer to buy that you make will be contingent on that sale. Contingent offers are more risky and less desirable for the seller, since the sale can't be completed until the buyer's house is sold. You may want to put your current house on the market first.
Get pre-approved (not pre-qualified) to get the actual amount you can pay. Apply to several lenders within a two week period so that the inquiries do not damage your credit report. Do this before contacting a real estate agent so you have a firm idea of what you can afford, and you don't accidentally fall in love with a house that you cannot afford.

If you qualify, check out first-time buyers' programs, which often have much lower down payment requirements. These are offered by various states and local governments. You may also be able to access up to $10,000 from your 401(k) or Roth IRA without penalty. Ask your broker or employer's human resources department for specifics regarding borrowing against those assets. If you can't afford a 10%-20% downpayment on your home, but have good credit and steady income, a mortgage broker may assist you with a combination mortgage. In that, you're taking out a first mortgage up to 80% of the value of the home, and a second mortgage for the remaining amount. While the rate on the second mortgage will be slightly higher, the interest on it is tax-deductible and combined payments should still be lower than a first mortgage with PMI. If you're buying new, consider the Nehemiah Program to get assistance with your down-payment.
Go house shopping. Unless you're under the gun time-wise, look at as many homes as possible to get a sense of what's available. Don't rush into buying if you don't have to. Read more in How to Find Your Ideal House.

Sign up for an MLS (Multiple Listing Service) alert service to search on properties in your area so you can get a feeling for what is on the market in your price range. (If you sign up through a real estate agent, it is poor form to call the listing agent directly to see a house. Don't ask an agent to do things for you unless you're planning to have them represent you--they don't get paid until a client buys a house and it's not fair to ask them to work for free, knowing that you're not going to use them to buy your home!) Find a good real estate agent to represent you in the search and negotiation process. The real estate agent should be: amiable, open, interested, relaxed, confident, and qualified. Learn the agent's rates, methods, experience, and training. Go into exhaustive detail when describing what you want in a home: number of bathrooms and bedrooms, attached garage, land and anything else that may be important, like good light or a big enough yard for the kids. Read more in How to Select a Realtor. Define the area you'd like to live in. Scout out what's available in the vicinity. Look at prices, home design, proximity to shopping, schools and other amenities. Read the town paper, if there is one, and chat with the locals. Look beyond the home to the neighborhood and the condition of nearby homes to make sure you aren't buying the only gem in sight. The area in which your home is located is sometimes a bigger consideration than the home itself, since it has a major impact on your home's resale value. Buying a fixer-upper in the right neighborhood can be a great investment, and being able to identify up-and-coming communities--where more people want to live--can lead you to a bargain property that will only appreciate in value. Visit a few open houses to gauge what's on the market and see firsthand what you want, such as overall layout, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen amenities, and storage. Visit properties you're seriously interested in at various times of the day to check traffic and congestion, available parking, noise levels and general activities. What may seem like a peaceful neighborhood at lunch can become a loud shortcut during rush hour, and you'd never know it if you drove by only once. If you are unsure about the price, have the home appraised by a local appraiser. Never buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood! When appraising a home, appraisers will look for "comparables" or "comps", homes in the area which have similar features, size, etc. If your home is more expensive than the comps, or the appraiser has to find comps in a different subdivision or more than 1/2 mile away, beware! Your bank may balk at financing the home, and you probably won't see your home appreciate in value very much. If you can, buy the least expensive home in a neighborhood -- as homes around you sell for more money than you paid, your home's value increases.
Make an offer.

Include earnest money with your offer.--usually $1,000 to $5,000. Once you sign an offer, you are officially in escrow, which means you are committed to buy the house or lose your deposit, unless you do not get final mortgage approval. During escrow (typically 30 to 90 days), your lender arranges for purchase financing and finalizes your mortgage. Make sure final acceptance is predicated on a suitable home inspection. Request the following surveys and reports: inspection, pests, dry rot, radon, hazardous materials, landslides, flood plains, earthquake faults and crime statistics. (You will generally have 7-10 days to complete inspections--be sure that your agent explains this fully to you when signing the purchase and sales contract.) A home inspection costs between $150 and $500, depending on the area, but it can prevent a $100,000 mistake. This is especially true with older homes, as you want to avoid financial landmines such as lead-paint, asbestos insulation and mold.
Close escrow. This is usually conducted in a title office and involves signing documents related to the property and your mortgage arrangements. The packet of papers includes the deed, proving you now own the house, and the title, which shows that no one else has any claim to it or lien against it. If any issues remain, money may be set aside in escrow until they are resolved, which acts as an incentive for the seller to quickly remedy any problem areas in order to receive all that is owed.

Consider using a real-estate lawyer to review closing documents and represent you at closing. Realtors are unable to give you legal advice. Lawyers may charge $200-$400 for the few minutes they're actually there, but they're paid to look out for you.

 

 

How to Work at Home Successfully-By eHow

By eHow Careers & Work Editor

Working at home is being embraced by more professionals every day. Being close to the family, not having to commute or being at your desk at three o'clock in the morning in your pajamas is a wonderful way to work and enjoy life at the same time. Should you choose to work from home, you must be very dedicated to producing a certain amount of work every day and sticking to rules that you make for yourself and your business. Follow these steps to find out how you can.

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Instructions Difficulty: Easy Step1Keep track of deadlines and follow a work schedule to run a proper home office. You don't have to answer to a boss; but you do have to satisfy your clients. Decide how much work you have to do each day and then do it, no matter how long it takes.

Step12Talk to your family and help them understand that even though you appear to be home, you are not home. You work from home. Set aside an hour each day to focus on your family, perhaps when the kids get home from school. After that hour is up, go back to your home office and if necessary, close the door.

Step23Allow only package deliveries, business telephone calls, emails, doctor appointments and emergencies to take you from your work. Laundry, house cleaning, electrical repairs and gardening must be left until the evening or the weekend. Monday through Friday you work at home.

Step34Prevent yourself from getting distracted. Even the most seasoned home office professional feels the pull of the outdoors, or desires to leave work and go do something fun. If you find yourself unable to concentrate, change into a business suit and sit back down at your desk. This will remind you that if you were working for someone else, you wouldn't have the option to take off to the spa or the golf course.

 Step5Buy everything you can possibly afford to make your home office function as professionally as possible. This includes having a top-rated Internet and email service, caller ID and a phone company that has excellent messaging services that can be retrieved from another phone or a Blackberry. Your clients are your income. You must always be available. Step6Find yourself a good accountant. Whether you are self-employed or incorporated, you need someone you can count on to help you protect your financial interests and make sure that everything is done on time.

 

Canada Visas, Permits and Immigration

A Canadian immigration visa offers great opportunities for you to work and live in Canada. There are many types of immigration visas for your specific needs or requirements. The Canadian Skilled Worker visa can provide permanent residency in Canada. If you just want to visit Canada, a Temporary Resident Visa or TRV is required. There are 2 visa classes you can choose from, and these include: Immigration Visa•    Permanent Canadian Visa; and
•    Temporary Canadian Visa.

A popular visa program intended to attract people with lots of experience and skills is called the Skilled Worker Visa. Canadian immigration also allows special visa type for business immigrants. The Canadian Government’s Immigration Department also allows the province of Quebec to choose its immigrants.
Permanent Immigration VisaUnder the permanent immigration visa, one must have minimum points in education, work experience, age, adaptability, arranged employment and language ability.

If you’re interested in business immigration to Canada, you can apply as an entrepreneur, a self-employed individual, or as an investor. You need to prove your skills and pass a minimum mark for the Business Points Test.  

For those applying under the Canadian family visa, they have to be sponsored by an eligible permanent Canadian resident (for those aged 18 years) or by a Canadian citizen. They also need to undergo medical and security checks.
Temporary Immigration VisaUnder the temporary immigration visa of Canada, the applicant should be issued a work permit to be finalized by the HRDSC or Human Resources and Social Development Canada organization or sector.

The skilled worker’s visa is intended for those applicants who have experience working in a thriving Canadian industry. To qualify, you must pass the minimum points required for work experience.  You need to prove that you have the funds and earn enough score in the 6 selection factors.

Tourists or visitors are required to submit a temporary resident visa before their departure from Canada. As a visitor, you will be provided a temporary visa if attending a business meeting, visiting relatives, participating in conferences, or going to cultural shows or pleasure trips. 
Immigration LawThe Immigration Act in Canada was created in the year 1976 by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.  It centered on who must be allowed to enter in Canada. This Act provided more power to the province of Canada in defending their culture and setting their own immigration law. At present, individuals who are considered as a burden for social health and welfare services can be refused entry to the country.

This also created alternatives to exile immigrants for less serious medical or criminal offences. Starting from deportation, the immigrant is banned from entering Canada and for the rest of the deported immigrant’s life. The government will then issue a twelve-month departure notice and exclusion order. This law also merges all previous legislations dealing with the immigration office.  It further prohibits immigration to Canada for a group of unwanted people, primarily people who are either physically or mentally handicapped. The bill gives the government the right to deport unwanted immigrants.

However, Canadian lawyers are doing their best to help foreigners as part of Canada’s immigration rule. This is because it is difficult to deal with Canadian migration. The lawyers help out family members in Canada to support their families and later on facilitate their entry to Canada.  Likewise, Canadian businessmen assisted by the lawyers also recruit foreign workers. These lawyers help people who were issued deportation orders from Canada.

The Canada Immigration and Refugee Protection Act emphasized the significance of immigration in Canadian economy and society. It also made Canada a culturally diverse nation. It also states the government’s commitment to allow family members to join them in Canada.  It tries to integrate immigrants while protecting the safety and health of all Canadians. The refugee program, on the other hand, plans to implement Canada’s international legal obligation and give balanced considerations to all Canadian immigrants and citizens being persecuted.

The Permanent Resident Card is required for permanent residents re-entering and leaving Canada. This has improved the country’s boundary security. The bill allows a child born outside Canada to be adopted by a Canadian citizen and receive Canadian citizenship.
Immigration Work Permits To work in Canada, a foreign national should receive authorization permits. A work permit is a document issued by the Immigration of Canada. It allows foreign individuals to work for a limited time at specific jobs. The work permit is issued only by the Canadian Immigration Officer after the HRDC or Human Resources Development Canada has approved the job offer of a Canadian employer to a foreign national. The Human Resources Development of Canada allows the Canadian Immigration Officer the right to determine whether the foreign worker has a positive, negative or neutral impact on the labor market.
Immigration PointsIn order to migrate to Canada as a skilled worker, you should get enough points. The minimum points for education in Canada is 25 points. For work experience, it is necessary to obtain a maximum of 21 points (1year is 15 points, 2 years 17 points, 3years 19 points, and 4 years 21 points). For language skills, it is required to get a maximum of 25 points (primary language goes for 16 points and secondary language come with 8 points).
Immigration Allowance Under the Canadian skilled worker class, you have to prove that sufficient settlement money is available for you to be successful.  You should have enough money to support you from the time you enter Canada until such time that you find a job. The required funds also depend on the number of family members who will join you.  The range for single is 10,000 Canadian dollars and for a family of eight or more is 25,000 Canadian dollars.
Canada Immigration RestrictionApplicants with a criminal record in any country or with financial problems may be refused during the process of their application.  They may also be refused if they:

•    fail the medical exam;
•    fail to present any of the requested documents or information by the immigration office;
•    fail to give proof of language skills; or
•    fail the background check.

The federal government of Canada created a group called Citizenship and Immigration Canada. This is responsible for the immigration criteria, visa level requirements and refugees. It also focuses on the citizenship application process and on the final stage of citizenship immigration. The Canadian Citizenship and Immigration maintains the number of people entering Canada and approves the types of immigrants entering Canada.  

How To Move to Canada

Will they take us in?

By Louisa Herron ThomasPosted Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004, at 6:37 PM ET

Going north?

After President George W. Bush was re-elected this week, some despairing U.S. residents began talking about moving to Canada. Just how easy is it to relocate to our neighbor to the north?

Historically, Canada has been a relatively welcoming destination for immigrants. Nearly 20 percent of the Canadian population is foreign born. (Just 11.5 percent of the U.S. population can say the same.) The country boasts one of the world's only permanent immigration programs, and the minister of citizenship and immigration recently announced that she hopes Canada will welcome 220,000 to 245,000 immigrants and refugees in 2005.* A relatively small number of those immigrants are expected to come from the United States. In 2003, emigrants from the United States constituted only 2.7 percent of the total number of immigrants to Canada, a figure that has held steady over recent years—even in 2001, after the hotly contested 2000 presidential election. (By contrast, more than half of the immigrant population comes from Asia and the Pacific region.)

Nevertheless, Canada has long been a refuge for Americans fleeing the states for political reasons. During the Vietnam War, tens of thousands of draft dodgers jumped the border—many of them illegally (according to the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services, there were about 23,000 legal American residents in Canada in 1970). Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau accepted most with open arms, and one Canadian town even recently planned a memorial to the draft dodgers until strong opposition from veterans groups blocked the effort.

Today, permanent residence—and the universal health care and clean air that come with it—is a little harder to obtain. Immigrants must obtain a visa from the Canadian Visa Office and fill out an application for permanent residence from the Consulate General of Canada. Applications take an average of 25 months to process. Bush dodgers arriving in Canada must also provide a valid passport, two copies of a detailed list of all personal items brought into the country and two copies of a list of all items on the way, and proof of enough funds to cover expenses for the first six months. For more information, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Web site.

 

 

How can I become a u.s. citizen?

In order to become a u.s citizen , you must

(1) have been admitted to lawful permanent residence for five years (three years if Green Card obtained through marriage to U.S. citizen);

(2) you must be 18 years old;

(3) you must be maintain continuous residence for five years (three years if Green Card obtained through marriage to U.S. citizen);

(4) you must be physically present in the U.S. for at least half of the 5 years (or half of the 3 years if you obtained a Green Card through a U.S. citizen spouse);

(5) you must be a person of good moral character for the 5 years (or 3 years if the alien obtained a Green Card through a U.S. citizen spouse);

(6) you must demonstrate an elementary level of English (reading, writing, understanding); and,

(7) you must have knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of history and government of the U.S.

Special exceptions to some of the general requirements are available for the disabled, members of the military, veterans, spouses married to U.S. citizens living overseas, and Legal Permanent Residents who work for certain organizations that promote U.S. interests abroad. Similarly exemptions from the English language requirements are available for those over 55 years who and have lived in the United States as a Legal Permanent Resident for 15 years, or are over 50 years old and have lived in the United States as a Legal Permanent Resident for 20 years.

Check out the INS website for more information.

Websites of U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and Diplomatic Missions AFRICA

• Africa Regional Services - Paris
• Angola: Luanda | Portuguese
• Benin: Cotonou
• Botswana: Gaborone
• Burkina Faso: Ouagadougou | Français
• Burundi: Bujumbura
• Cameroon: Yaounde
• Cape Verde: Praia
• Chad: Ndjamena | Français
• Democratic Republic of the Congo: Kinshasa | Français
• Republic of Congo: Brazzaville
• Côte D’Ivoire: Abidjan | Français
• Republic of Djibouti: Djibouti
• Equatorial Guinea: Malabo | Español
• Eritrea: Asmara

• Ethiopia: Addis Ababa
• Gabon: Libreville
• The Gambia: Banjul
• Ghana: Accra
• Guinea: Conakry | Français
• Kenya: Nairobi
• Lesotho: Maseru
• Liberia: Monrovia
• Madagascar: Antananarivo
• Malawi: Lilongwe
• Mali: Bamako
• Mauritania: Nouakchott | Français | عربي
• Mauritius: Port Louis
• Mauritius: VPP Seychelles
• Mozambique: Maputo | Portuguese
• Namibia: Windhoek

• Niger: Niamey
• Nigeria: Abuja
• Rwanda: Kigali
• Senegal: Dakar | Français
• Sierra Leone: Freetown
• Somalia: VPP Somalia
• South Africa: Pretoria
• Sudan: Khartoum
• Swaziland: Mbabane
• Tanzania: Dar es Salaam
• Togo: Lome | Français
• Uganda: Kampala
• VPP Northern Uganda
• Zambia: Lusaka
• Zimbabwe: Harare
• U.S. Mission to the African Union

THE AMERICAS

• Argentina: Buenos Aires | Español
• Argentina: VPP Patagonia
• Bahamas: Nassau
• Barbados: Bridgetown
• Belize: Belmopan
• Bermuda: Hamilton
• Bolivia: La Paz | Español
• Bolivia: VPP Cochabamba
• Bolivia: VPP Santa Cruz
• Bolivia: VPP Sucre
• Brazil: Brasilia
• Brazil: Rio de Janeiro
• Brazil: Recife
• Brazil: São Paulo
• Brazil: VPP Belo Horizonte
• Brazil: VPP Fortaleza
• Brazil: VPP Manaus
• Brazil: VPP Porto Allegre
• Brazil: VPP Salvador de Bahia
• Canada: Ottawa
• Canada: Calgary
• Canada: Halifax
• Canada: Montreal
• Canada: Quebec

• Canada: Toronto
• Canada: Vancouver
• Canada: Winnipeg
• Canada: VPP Northwest Territories
• Canada: VPP Nunavut
• Canada: VPP Southwest Ontario
• Canada: VPP Yukon
• Chile: Santiago
• Colombia: Bogota | Español
• Costa Rica: San Jose
• Cuba: U.S. Interests Section Havana
• Dominican Republic: Santo Domingo
• Ecuador: Quito | Español
• Ecuador: Guayaquil
• El Salvador: San Salvador
• Guatemala: Guatemala City | Español
• Guatemala: VPP Xela
• Guyana: Georgetown
• Haiti: Port-au-Prince
• Honduras: Tegucigalpa | Español
• Honduras: VPP San Pedro Sula
• Jamaica: Kingston
• Mexico: Mexico City
• Mexico: Ciudad Juarez | Español


• Mexico: Guadalajara | Español
• Mexico: Hermosillo | Español
• Mexico: Matamoros | Español
• Mexico: Merida | Español
• Mexico: Monterrey | Español
• Mexico: Nogales | Español
• Mexico: Nuevo Laredo
• Mexico: Puerto Vallarta
• Mexico: Tijuana | Español
• Mexico: VPP El Bajio | Español
• Mexico: VPP Chiapas-Tabasco | Español
• Netherlands Antilles: Curacao
• Nicaragua: Managua | Español
• Panama: Panama City | Español
• Panama: VPP Colon
• Paraguay: Asuncion | Español
• Peru: Lima | Español
• Suriname: Paramaribo
• Trinidad & Tobago: Port of Spain
• Tobago: VPP Tobago
• Uruguay: Montevideo
• Venezuela: Caracas| Español
• Venezuela: VPP Barquisemeto
• U.S. Mission to the OAS
• U.S. Mission to the U.N.-New York

EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC

• Australia: Canberra
• Australia: Melbourne
• Australia: Perth
• Australia: Sydney
• Australia: VPP Adelaide
• Australia: VPP Brisbane
• Brunei: Bandar Seri Begawan
• Burma: Rangoon
• Cambodia: Phnom Penh |
• China: Beijing | 中文版
• China: Chengdu | 中文版
• China: Guangzhou | 中文版
• China: Shanghai | 中文版
• China: Shenyang | 中文版
• China: Wuhan | 中文版
• China: VPP Dalian | 中文版
• China: VPP Fuzhou | 中文版
• China: VPP Nanjing (中文版)
• China: VPP Nanning (中文版)
• China: VPP Qingdao | 中文版
• China: VPP Tianjin | 中文版
• China: VPP Zhengzhou (中文版)

• Fiji: Suva
• Fiji: VPP Tonga
• Hong Kong and Macau | 中文版
• Indonesia: Jakarta
• Indonesia: Surabaya
• Japan: Tokyo
• Japan: Fukuoka
• Japan: Nagoya
• Japan: Osaka/Kobe
• Japan: Sapporo
• Japan: Naha, Okinawa
• Korea: Seoul | 한국어
• Korea: Busan | 한국어
• Laos: Vientiane
• Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur
• Republic of the Marshall Islands:
   Majuro
• Federated States of Micronesia:
    Kolonia

• Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar | МОНГОЛ
• New Zealand: Wellington
• New Zealand: VPP South Island
• Papua New Guinea: Port Moresby
• Papua New Guinea: Virtual Embassy
    Solomon Islands
• Papua New Guinea: VPP Vanuatu
• Republic of Palau: Koror
• Philippines: Manila
• Philippines: VPP Davao
• Samoa: Apia
• Singapore
• Thailand: Bangkok | ภาษาไทย
• Thailand: Chiang Mai
• Timor-Leste: Dili
• Vanuatu: US Virtual Embassy
• Vietnam: Hanoi | Tièng Viêt
• Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh City | Tièng Viêt
*


EUROPE AND EURASIA

• Albania: Tirana | Shqip
• Armenia: Yerevan
• Austria: Vienna
• Azerbaijan: Baku | Azeri
• Belarus: Minsk | па-беларуску
• Belgium: Brussels | Français | Nederlands
• Bosnia & Herzegovina: Sarajevo | B/H/S
• Bulgaria: Sofia | Български
• Croatia: Zagreb | Hrvatski
• Cyprus: Nicosia
• Czech Republic: Prague | česky
• Denmark: Copenhagen
• Denmark-Greenland: VPP Nuuk
• Estonia: Tallinn
• Finland: Helsinki | Finnish
• France: Paris | Français
• France: Bordeaux
• France: Lille
• France: Lyon
• France: Rennes
• France: Toulouse
• France: Marseille
• France: Strasbourg
• Georgia: Tbilisi | ქართულად
• Germany: Berlin | Deutsch
• Germany: Düsseldorf | Deutsch
• Germany: Frankfurt | Deutsch
• Germany: Hamburg | Deutsch
• Germany: Leipzig | Deutsch
• Germany: Munich | Deutsch

• Greece: Athens
• Greece: Thessaloniki
• Hungary: Budapest | Magyarul
• Iceland: Reykjavik
• Ireland: Dublin
• Italy: Rome
• Italy: Florence
• Italy: Milan
• Italy: Naples
• Italy: VPP San Marino
• Kosovo: Pristina | Shqip | Srpski
• Latvia: Riga | Latviski
• Lithuania: Vilnius
• Luxembourg
• Macedonia: Skopje
• Malta: Valletta
• Moldova: Chisinau | Română | Pycckuú
• Montenegro: Podgorica
• The Netherlands: The Hague
• The Netherlands: Amsterdam
• Norway: Oslo
• Poland: Warsaw | Polski
• Poland: Krakow | Polski
• Portugal: Lisbon
• Portugal: Ponta Delgada, Azores
• Romania: Bucharest
• Russia: Moscow | Pycckuú
• Russia: St. Petersburg | Pycckuú
• Russia: Vladivostok | Pycckuú

• Russia: Yekaterinburg | Pycckuú
• Russia: VPP Chelyabinsk
• Russia: VPP Perm
• Russia: VPP Tyumen
• Serbia: Belgrade
• Slovakia: Bratislava | Slovenská
• Slovenia: Ljubljana
• Spain: Madrid | Español
• Spain: Barcelona
• Sweden: Stockholm
• Sweden: VPP Gothenborg
• Switzerland: Bern
• Turkey: Ankara | Türkçe
• Turkey: Adana
• Turkey: Istanbul
• Ukraine: Kyiv
• United Kingdom: London
• United Kingdom: VPP Cardiff
• The Vatican
• U.S. Mission to International
   Organizations in Vienna
• U.S. Mission to the EU
• U.S. Mission to NATO
• U.S. Mission to the OECD
• U.S. Mission to the OSCE
• U.S. Mission to the UN-Geneva
• U.S. Mission to the UN-Rome
• U.S. Mission to UNESCO

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

• Algeria: Algiers | Français
• Bahrain: Manama
• Egypt: Cairo
• Iraq: Baghdad | عربي
• Israel: Tel Aviv
• Jerusalem | عربي
• VPP Gaza | عربي
• Jordan: Amman

• Kuwait: Kuwait City
• Lebanon: Beirut | عربي
• Libya: Tripoli | عربي
• Morocco: Rabat
• Morocco: Casablanca
• Oman: Muscat | الصفحة العربية
• Qatar: Doha | عربي
• Saudi Arabia: Riyadh

• Saudi Arabia: Dhahran
• Saudi Arabia: Jeddah
• Syria: Damascus
• Tunisia: Tunis | Français | عربي
• United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi | عربي
• United Arab Emirates: Dubai
• Yemen: Sana'a

CENTRAL AND SOUTH ASIA

• Afghanistan: Kabul | دری
• Bangladesh: Dhaka
• Bangladesh: VPP Chittagong
• Bangladesh: VPP Jessore
• Bangladesh: VPP Sylhet
• India: New Delhi
• India: Kolkata

• India: Chennai
• India: Mumbai
• Kazakhstan: Astana | Русский
• Kyrgyz Republic: Bishkek | Русский
• Nepal: Kathmandu
• Pakistan: Islamabad
• Pakistan: Karachi

• Pakistan: Lahore
• Pakistan: Peshawar
• Sri Lanka: Colombo
• Tajikistan: Dushanbe
• Turkmenistan: Ashgabat | Türkmen dilinde | Русский
• Uzbekistan: Tashkent | Русский | O'zbekcha

*The U.S. maintains unofficial relations with the people on Taiwan through the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), a private nonprofit corporation, which performs citizen and consular services similar to those at diplomatic posts. See AIT's website www.ait.org.tw/en/ for details.