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The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 308 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest both by land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries.The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2009 GDP of $14.3 trillion (24% of nominal global GDP and 20% of global GDP at purchasing power parity).
The United States has a population of about 308 million people and over 10,000 cities, towns, and villages. Some of the most importand are New York, the largest city of the United States which is home of the financial services and media industries. Los Angeles, the second largest city of the UK that is home of the film industry. San Francisco, the wine country that is gateway to the California coast. Chicago, the "Windy City", heart of the Midwest. Boston, the capital of Massachusetts, best known for its colonial history. Miami, the most populous county in Florida, also New Orleans.
The 2010 U.S. Census reported 308,745,538 residents; the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Clock projects the country's population now to be 310,877,000, including an estimated 11.2 million illegal immigrants.The third most populous nation in the world, after China and India, the United States is the only industrialized nation in which large population increases are projected. With a birth rate of 13.82 per 1,000, 30% below the world average, its population growth rate is 0.98%, significantly higher than those of Western Europe, Japan, and South Korea.In fiscal year 2009, 1.1 million immigrants were granted legal residence. Mexico has been the leading source of new residents for over two decades; since 1998, China, India, and the Philippines have been in the top four sending countries every year. The United States has a very diverse population—thirty-one ancestry groups have more than one million members. White Americans are the largest racial group; German Americans, Irish Americans, and English Americans constitute three of the country's four largest ancestry groups. African Americans are the nation's largest racial minority and third largest ancestry group.Asian Americans are the country's second largest racial minority; the two largest Asian American ethnic groups are Chinese Americans and Filipino Americans. In 2008, the U.S. population included an estimated 4.9 million people with some American Indian or Alaskan natives ancestry (3.1 million exclusively of such ancestry) and 1.1 million with some native Hawaiian or Pacific island ancestry (0.6 million exclusively). The population growth of Hispanic and Latino Americans (the terms are officially interchangeable) is a major demographic trend. The 46.9 million Americans of Hispanic descent are identified as sharing a distinct "ethnicity" by the Census Bureau; 64% of Hispanic Americans are of Mexican descent. Between 2000 and 2008, the country's Hispanic population increased 32% while the non-Hispanic population rose just 4.3%. Much of this growth is from immigration; as of 2007, 12.6% of the U.S. population was foreign-born, with 54% of that figure born in Latin America. Fertility is also a factor; the average Hispanic woman gives birth to 3.0 children in her lifetime, compared to 2.2 for non-Hispanic black women and 1.8 for non-Hispanic white women (below the replacement rate of 2.1).Minorities (as defined by the Census Bureau, all those beside non-Hispanic, non-multiracial whites) constitute 34% of the population; they are projected to be the majority by 2042.
English is the de facto national language. Although there is no official language at the federal level, some laws—such as U.S. naturalization requirements—standardize English. In 2007, about 226 million, or 80% of the population aged five years and older, spoke only English at home. Spanish, spoken by 12% of the population at home, is the second most common language and the most widely taught second language.Some Americans advocate making English the country's official language, as it is in at least twenty-eight states. Both Hawaiian and English are official languages in Hawaii by state law. While neither has an official language, New Mexico has laws providing for the use of both English and Spanish, as Louisiana does for English and French.Other states, such as California, mandate the publication of Spanish versions of certain government documents including court forms.
Rules of admission to the USA. In order to be admitted to the USA you need to acquire a visa. Consulate fee is 100 USD, cost of single entry visa is 100 USD, one-year multiple entry visa – 195 USD, and three years multiple-entry visa – 495 USD. While onboard of the aircraft you will be given I-94 form, where you fill in your passport data, address of your place of stay, dates and goals of your visit. In case you have more than 10000 USD cash with you, it has to be declared as well. In order to go through immigration control you have to show your foreign passport with visa, airplane ticket and (preferably) an invitation. The employee of immigration service will attach to your passport отрывной the white coupon from an immigration card which should be kept up to the end of a trip: before departure the country it is withdrawn by customs service, and on it is defined, that you have left territory of the USA. To the United States import of food stuffs is forbidden, it is authorized to take only 1 litre of alcohol and 10 packs of cigarettes.
Time in USA Time - Hour zones (a difference with Moscow):
New York, Miami, Orlando - a minus of 8 hours, Chicago - a minus of 9 hours, California, Las Vegas - a minus of 11 hours, Hawaii - a minus 13 hours. Thus the territory of the country is located in several time zones: midday to New York and Florida - 11 mornings in Chicago or Dallas, 10 hours per Denver both 9 in California and Las Vegas. In the USA the following designation of time of day - from 12 one o'clock in the morning up to midnight - a.m. (it is designated 3.00 a.m. - three one o'clock in the morning 12.00. a.m. - midnight, 11.00 a.m. - 11 o'clock in the morning), c 13.00 is accepted. Till 00.00 next day - p.m. (2.00. p.m. - 14.00. Or 11.00. p.m. - 23.00.).
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