Archive for the 'USA Domains .US' Category

New York Plan to Seek .NYC Web Address

October 7, 2009

New York City has become the first American city to openly state it will seek a generic Top Level Domain. The City of New York will seek the .NYC gTLD working with dotNYC LLC, a private company that for the last year has been meeting with city officials about the plan for the .NYC web address.

ICANN, which has just released Version Three of its New gTLD Applicant Guidebook, is likely to call for applications for new gTLDs in 2010. While early 2010 was the date being aimed for by ICANN it is likely the date when applications will be called for will be pushed back to later in the year. There are still a number of contentious issues including security and protection for trademark holders that are to be finalized.

The Guidebook has been changed significantly and the changes will be discussed at the ICANN meeting in Seoul in late October. As indicated by ICANN Chief Operating Officer, Doug Brent, “this third version of draft guidebook represents months of outstanding effort by many in the ICANN community working to resolve the few, challenging remaining issues. This version is being released with materials that describe how public comment has influenced the changes presented in it.”

The .NYC proposal has gained the support of several prominent New York identities including former Mayor Ed Koch, who supports the dotNYC effort to operate .NYC on the city’s behalf: “.NYC is the best real estate deal since the Dutch bought Manhattan,” Koch said.

Register Requirements and Criteria USA

January 17, 2009

Registrants in the usTLD must be either:

  • A natural person who is a United States citizen, who is a permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories, or whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions [Nexus Category 1],
  • A United States entity or organization that is incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories, or organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia or any of its possessions or territories (including a federal, state, or local government of the United States or a political subdivision thereof, and non commercial organizations based in the United States) [Nexus Category 2], or
  • A foreign entity or organization that has a bona fide presence in the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories [Nexus Category 3].

Prospective Registrants will certify that they have bona fide presence in the United States on the basis of real and substantial lawful connections with, or lawful activities in, the United States of America.

This requirement is intended to ensure that only those individuals or organizations that have a substantive lawful connection to the United States are permitted to register for usTLD domain names.

It shall be a continuing requirement that all usTLD domain name Registrants remain in compliance. To implement the Nexus requirement, the Registry will: Require that Registrars certify that they enforce the Nexus requirement upon their Registrants, and that Registrars require Registrants to certify that they meet the Nexus requirement.

Conduct a scan of selected registration request information. Conduct spot check on Registrant information.

Information Collected From Registrants

To register a name, Registrants (through their Registrars) will be required to provide basic registration information to the Registry. The minimum required information is:

  1. The domain name registered
  2. The IP address and corresponding names of the primary and secondary name servers for the registered name
  3. The Registrar name and URL or, where appropriate, the identity of the delegated manager under whom the name is registered
  4. The original creation date and term of the registration
  5. The name and postal address of the domain name Registrant
  6. The name, postal address, e mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the name holder for the name registered
  7. The name, postal address, e mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the technical contact for the name registered, and
  8. The name, postal address, e mail address, voice telephone number, and (where available) fax number of the administrative contact for the name registered.

In addition to the above information, Registrants will be required to provide certain additional Nexus information to their Registrars.

Except where it is noted below that a registration will be rejected if information is missing, failure of a registration to satisfy the Nexus requirement will result in the name being placed upon a 30 day hold, during which time the Registrar will be notified and given the opportunity to correct the information with the Registrant.

If no action is taken by the Registrar within the 30 day period, the registration will be cancelled and the name will be returned to available status. The registration fee will not be refunded. If, on the other hand, the Registrar is able to demonstrate compliance with the requirement and the information is corrected, the hold will be released and the name will be registered. Certification that Registrant satisfies Nexus requirement if not completed, then registration will be rejected.

Basis for compliance (Nexus Category 1, 2, or 3) if not completed, then registration will be rejected;
Certification that the listed name servers are located within the United States if not completed, then registration will be rejected

Nexus Category 1

  1. A natural person
  2. who is a United States citizen,
  3. who is a permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories, or

whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions. Statement of citizenship or legal permanent residency required. If not completed,  registration will be rejected.

Nexus Category 2

United States entity or organization that is:

  • Incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories, or
  • organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia or any of its possessions or (including a federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision there of, and non commercial organizations based in the United States).

Nexus Category 3

A foreign entity or organization that has a bona fide presence in the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories. Applicant must state country of citizenship.

Applicant must also (1) regularly engage in lawful activities (sales of goods or services or other business, commercial or non commercial including not for profit activities) in the United States; or (2) maintain an office or other property within the United States.

Category 3 Nexus Certification

Prospective Registrants will certify compliance with Category 3 Nexus based upon substantial lawful contacts with, or lawful activities in, the United States.

Factors that should be considered in determining whether an entity or organization has a bona fide presence in the United States shall include, without limitation, whether such prospective usTLD domain name Registrant:

Regularly performs lawful activities within the United States related to the purposes for which the entity or organization is constituted (e.g., selling goods or providing services to customers, conducting regular training activities, attending conferences), provided such activities are not conducted solely or primarily to permit it to register for a usTLD domain name and are lawful under the laws and regulations of the

United States and satisfy policies for the usTLD, including policies approved and/or mandated by the DoC; Maintains an office or other facility in the United States for a lawful business, noncommercial, educational or governmental purpose, and not solely or primarily to permit it to register for a usTLD domain name.

Registration Process USA

January 17, 2009

Purchasing a .US Domain Name in the Expanded Space

(for example, mycompany.us)

.US domain names in the expanded space may be purchased directly through any of the Registry.US Accredited Registrars

Registering a .US Domain Name in the Locality Space

(for example, mycompany.new york.ny.us)

Registration of locality based names are subject to the specific requirements and restrictions of the Delegated Manager for that locality.

FAQ USA

January 17, 2009

What is .US?

.US is United States Internet Address. It is the official country code top level domain (ccTLD) for the United States within the global domain name system (DNS).

What makes .US unique and why do I need it?

.US is the only means of establishing a North American address on the Internet.
Now, all U.S. residents, government entities, public service organizations, and businesses can establish a North American identity on the Internet with a short memorable domain name (e.g. johnsmith.us, publicservice.us, mycompany.us).

Market research has shown that .US names are very popular with consumers for applications like email, digital identity, and personal web sites.

Government and public interest organizations use .US addresses to enable citizen centric e Gov applications and to serve the needs of the North American people.

Finally, businesses use .US domain names to promote themselves as North American companies to inspire consumer confidence and to encourage consumers to ebuy North American.

Who can register a .US domain name?

Any U.S. citizen or resident, as well as any business or organization, including federal, state, and local government with a bona fide presence in the United States can register a .US domain name.

One of the following eligibility requirements must be met:

  • A natural person (i) who is a citizen or permanent resident of the United States of America or any of its possessions or territories or (ii) whose primary place of domicile is in the United States of America or any of its possessions, or
  • Any entity or organization that is incorporated within one of the fifty (50) U.S. states, the District of Columbia, or any of the United States possessions or territories or (ii) organized or otherwise constituted under the laws of a state of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, or any of its possessions or territories, or
  • An entity or organization (including federal, state, or local government of the United States, or a political subdivision thereof) that has a bona fide presence in the United States. See Section B.3.1 of the NeuStar proposal to the Department of Commerce for details concerning what constitutes a “bona fide presence

Now that I have my .US domain name, how and when can I send and receive emails using my new .US address?

Most retail providers of web addresses also provide email services. Your personalized .US email account can typically be (1) set up during the registration process when you register your domain name, or (2) added to your account afterward at the retailer’s website.

Where can I register a second level .US domain name?

Second level domain name registrations are available through .US accredited Registrars and their resale channel partners.

How do I transfer my .US domain name?

Domain name transfers fall in one of two categories:

  1. Registrant Transfer or Name Change: Each Registrar has unique requirements for making changes to the registrant field of a domain name. Registrants must contact the sponsoring Registrar for information regarding Registrant Name Changes and/or Transfers.
  2. Registrar to Registrar Transfer: .US Registry rules require that a domain name be registered for a minimum of 60 days, and be in PAID status with the current sponsoring Registrar before it can be transferred to another Registrar. If your domain name meets these requirements, contact your current sponsoring Registrar.

What is a reserved name?

A reserved name is a name that is not available for general public registration, but rather is subject to additional rules, restrictions or processes.

Why are .US names reserved?

Names are reserved to protect important local and national naming resources to reserve spaces within .US for future enhancement of the domain and to protect technical Internet interoperability. Policy changes relative to the reserved list are subject to Department of Commerce review and approval prior to implementation.

How long will it take to process my contact or name server change request?

If all information is filled out correctly and we have received the authorized documents, these are generally processed in 3 to 5 business days.

Which locality domains are included in the .US WHOIS?

Second , third , fourth , fifth and sixth level domain names are included.

What is Pending Delete Status?

All domains that are deleted are initially placed on Pending Delete status before being purged from the Registry database and made available for registration.

The exceptions to this rule are domains that are deleted with the first 5 days of the initial registration. These domains will not be placed on Pending Delete and will be purged immediately.

Domains will remain on Pending Delete status for a period of 35 days before being purged, unless they are “redeemed” by the registrar. This period is known as the Redemption Grace Period.

What is the Redemption Grace Period (RGP)?

The Redemption Grace Period is the 35 days following the deletion of a domain. The purpose of RGP is to allow registrars and/or registrants to correct for inadvertent deletions.

During the first 30 days of the Redemption Grace Period, registrars may request the Registry to redeem the deleted domain, and thus restore it to its original disposition prior to deletion.

Redemptions may NOT be performed during the final 5 days of the RGP. The whois record will indicate if the domain is eligible for redemption. Domains that are eligible will be marked “Pending Delete (restorable)”. “Ineligible domains will have the status “Pending Delete (scheduled for release)”. All redemption requests must be submitted through your registrar.