USA

 

Please note that IBN Group is presently establishing additional IBNG Business Centres is New York, Detroit and Houston (correct as at January 07)

 

San Francisco (Branch Office in LA) 

50 California Street
Suite 1500
San Francisco, California 94111
USA

Email:
san_francisco@ibng.com

Contact person: Dwayne A. Gathers

To view a larger map, click here.

General Information

Country (name in full):	United States of America
Capital:	Washington, DC
Surface Area:	9,629,091 sq km
Official Languages:	English
Population:	298,444,215 (July 2006 est.)
Exchange Rates:	Real Time Converter
Real GDP Growth:	3.2% (2005 est.)
GDP per capita:	purchasing power parity - $41,600 (2005 est.)
Head of State:	President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001)
Head of Government:	President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001)

Principal Trading Partners

Export Destinations
Canada 23.4%, Mexico 13.3%, Japan 6.1%, China 4.6%, UK 4.3% (2005)

Import Destinations
Canada 16.9%, China 15%, Mexico 10%, Japan 8.2%, Germany 5% (2005)

US Overview

Geography & Population
The population of the USA is around 298 million people which is the third largest population in the world.  About 10 per cent of the population is foreign born which adds to the cultural and religious diversity of the country.

USA is bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico. 

Language
The official language is English, the next most common language is Spanish. In Southern California, 38 per cent of the population is Hispanic. 

Government and Law
The USA is a federal republic with a strong democratic tradition, based on the US Constitution. The Constitution reserves certain powers to the states, which are presided over by a Governor, State Legislature, and State Supreme Court.

The US Federal Government has three branches that monitor one another through a system of checks and balances.

1. The Executive, headed by the President.
2. The Legislative, headed by a bicameral Congress and comprises the Senate – 100 members for a six-year term, and the House of Representatives – 435 members for a two-year term
3. The Judicial, of which the Supreme Court carries supreme interpretive powers of the Constitution.

The legal system is based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations.

Climate
When you are packing, you need to consider what time of year the region is in that you are visiting. Due to the size of the USA, the climate varies considerably from the tropics of Hawaii to the cold and snow of the North East in winter.

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

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

US Calendar

Business travellers should note that the USA enjoys a wide range of public holidays due to religious, national and other festive events. 

IBN clients are recommended to consult with their regional Business Centres to obtain more specific regional travel advice in relation to public holidays as they may impact upon visit schedules.

Exhibitions and Conferences

IBN clients should consult their regional Business Centre for detailed information on exhibitions and conferences including exhibiting, booking requirements etc.

For a useful link on exhibition details, please visit the Fair Guide - www.fairguide.com.

To contact us, click here.

Travel Information

The major international airports are located in the cities of Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington.

Atlanta 
Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport is one of the busiest airports in the world. Direct flights are available from Hartsfield to all major cities in the Americas, and to many European cities.  Delta Airlines is based in Atlanta.

Detroit 
Detroit Watne County airport (DTW) is the principal airport in Detroit and is a hub for Northwest Airlines.

Los Angeles  
The main airport in Los Angeles is referred to as LAX and is usually the first stopover when coming to the USA from Australia.

New York 
New York has three major airports:

1. JFK is the major international airport in New York.  Flights to the west coast of the USA also operate from JFK. Travel time to JFK is about 40 minutes.
2. La Guardia is located closer to Manhattan (around 30 minutes). La Guardia is primarily a short-haul domestic airport. 
3. Newark is a major international and domestic airport (about an hour to Manhattan).

Interstate trains operate from Penn Central Station on 34^th Street and 7^th Avenue. Regular fast trains operate to Boston (a three hour trip) and Washington (a three and a half hour trip).

San Francisco 
San Francisco International Airport (SFO), located south of city, serves Silicon Valley and the wider Bay Area. One of the nation's busiest airports, SFO handles domestic flight s and international connections to and from the Pacific Rim, Europe and Latin America. Some alternative airports are Oakland International Airport (OAK) and San Jose International Airport (SJC)   

Washington 
Three main airports service Washington:

1. Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA)
2. Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI)
3. Washington Dulles International Airport

If flying from New York to Washington DC, consider a shuttle flight with US Air or Delta Airlines from New York’s LaGuardia Airport into Washington’s Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA). From DC, it is only a 20-minute drive to your hotel. If catching the train from New York to Washington, it takes approximately four and a half hours. Driving takes around five hours.

Shuttle flights provide flexibility and subject to seat availability you can take an earlier or later flight at no extra charge. Providers include US Airways shuttle and Delta shuttle.

For other cities in the USA, World Executive has more information on how to get from the airport. 

The following information is provided to assist travellers when planning to visit USA:

IDD:                                                      +1
Time:                                                    GMT -4 Hrs - -7 Hrs
Voltage:                                                 110V
Cell Phone System:                                 Tri Band system
Dress:                                                    Business Suit
Taxi Fare to city from airport (average):     Various
Departure tax:                                       Yes (usually included in ticket price)

Foreign Visa Requirements

Obtaining the correct visa prior to visiting the USA is important.   The US embassy or consulate in your country can provide the information you need.  Additional information on visas and immigration matters is available on the official US Government  website.   IBN clients are able to obtain specific information including supporting Letters of Invitation for business travel (if required) from their respective IBN Business Centres.

Health Considerations

There is no specific health advice for travel to the US, and health standard is high.   However, extra health insurance should be obtained before travel, as medical/hospital costs are considerably higher.  For example, US$1000 per night in hospital is not uncommon.

Local Currency

The local currency is the United States Dollar (USD) which is made up of 100 cents.   Currency denominations range from $1.00 to $1,000.00.

Currency exchange facilities are available throughout the US however visitors to the US are advised that they should exchange foreign currency for US currency upon arrival in the US as not all foreign currencies are able to be exchanged in remote or isolated towns.

To use our Real-Time Converter, click here. 

Useful Links

For business, national and regional news as well as current affairs, government and a more in depth view of the US today, the following links should prove to be useful.

US Department of State - http://www.state.gov
US Federal Government - http://www.firstgov.gov
US Dept of State Consular Affairs - http://travel.state.gov
US Internal Revenue Service - http://www.irs.gov
US Customs Service - http://www.customs.ustreas.gov
US Department of Agriculture - http://www.usda.gov
CNN – www.cnn.com/us
The Washington Post - http://washingtonpost.com
New York Times - www.nytimes.com
Los Angeles Times - www.latimes.com
San Francisco Chronicle - www.sfgate.com
The Atlanta Journal Constitution - www.accessalanta.com

Disclaimer

Whilst IBN Group Pty Ltd (IBN) has taken due care to obtain and provide the country information detailed on this site, it cannot accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the same information and data. As this country information and data has been received from various sources, accepted by IBN as being reliable, IBN itself makes no representation concerning its completeness, truth or accuracy or its suitability for any particular purposes.