United States

The White House Immigration Page
U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Immigration Section - Immigration Statistics)
Department of State
Embassies and Other Diplomatic Missions
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. State Department (Bureau of Population, Refugees, Migration)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
HHS (Office of Refugee Resettlement)
U.S. Census Bureau Immigration Statistics
Department of Justice's website on trafficking
Department of Justice's website on trafficking
Women's Issues
Bureau of Consular Affairs - Immigration and Visas
Website on trafficking
Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons
FAST Program: Information regarding the U.S. Free and Secure
Trade Program with Canada and Mexico can be found at: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/import/commercial_enforcement/ctpat/fast/
The entire act as well as its immigration-related provisions are
available at: PATRIOT ACT
U.S.-VISIT logistical information can be found here

• Total Area: 9,631,420 sq km

• Population: 298,444,215

• Government type: Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition

• Languages: English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7%

• Religions: Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)

• National Symbols: The National Anthem, the Flag, the Great Seal.

• Electricity: 110 volts AC, 60 Hz and 220 volts.

• Airports: 14,858

• Main ports: Corpus Christi, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Tampa, Texas City
Note: 13 ports north of New Orleans (South Louisiana Ports) on the Mississippi River handle 290,000,000 tons of cargo annually.

• Exports: agricultural products (soybeans, fruit, corn) 9.2%, industrial supplies (organic chemicals) 26.8%, capital goods (transistors, aircraft, motor vehicle parts, computers, telecommunications equipment) 49.0%, consumer goods (automobiles, medicines) 15.0%

• Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

• Communications: country code - 1; 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000)

• Debit and credit cards: Most international cards can be used.

GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico

LAND BOUNDARIES
Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Mexico 3,141 km

VISA REQUIREMENTS
A citizen of a foreign country, wishing to enter the U.S., generally must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. The type of visa you must have is defined by immigration law, and relates to the purpose of your travel.

If you love the great outdoors the United States has thousands of parks, rivers, lakes, and mountains that are perfect for spending your days outdoors. Many small towns have local motels and cabins you can stay in or you might want to consider camping, a fun and recreational way to experience nature firsthand.