Is there a way non US residents can register .us?

[tradingnames.org]

Hi folks

I was just wondering what the score was with .us domains for non US residents, I know officially you are meant to be a US resident, but I was wondering how much of a problem this is in reality, will a registrar even let me register it in the first place assuming I don’t make up a fake US address? How likely is it to get taken off you? Do non US residents buy them and sell them on without any of this been a problem? Or is there a service that will help you get around it? I am a UK resident and while as far as I am aware anyone in the world can register a .co.uk, there are names like .us, .de which I can’t, totally sucks, anyway I was wondering how much of a problem this is in reality?

Thanks

[katherine]

Neustar (the registry) conducts spot checks from time to time so there is always a risk that you get audited, even with a US-based address.
Now many domainers don't pay attention to the restrictions but they are enforced.

If you want to register just one .us domain your best bet is to find a trustworthy person to assume ownership. If you want to invest in .us and own quite a few, you could set up a US corporation and the eligibility issue is solved.

[tradingnames.org]

I see, it seems a bit too dodgy for my liking, I was just wondering, but personally I think I will stay well away from .us. Better to accept it’s just another protected market and not a level playing field.

[CureCancer]

why would you register a .us? no one buys them!

[bmugford]

I have sold many, and for good amounts.

Brad

why would you register a .us? no one buys them!

[katherine]

why would you register a .us? no one buys them!

Well let's develop them then

[CureCancer]

I have sold many, and for good amounts.

Brad

Good for you, the reality is you are the few lucky ones.

[HolyRoller]

I believe if you conduct a lot of business with the US you can also register .us domains

A foreign organization that regularly engages in lawful activities (sales of goods or services or other business, commercial, or non-commercial, including not for profit relations) in the United States.

The chances are you could fall into this category. I am from UK, but have regularly sold goods and services to US (domain names, graphic/web design work etc..)

In the past I have registered these names with domainsite.com.

[Aleksandar]

Find someone to reg them for you, just send him the money. He can keep them in his account and you can operate the websites, you don't need to do anything else than telling him where to point the domains.

I really like .us domains and I think they're perfect for small businesses or development for US market exclusively.

And I've seen a lot of .us domains ranking on the first page/top spot for competitive keywords, so no worries about that, .com is nothing superior to .us when it comes to search engines and driving traffic from them. A lot of high search volume domains are available to reg, and I've seen a lot of exact match domains outrank keyword rich domains with plenty more backlinks/content. Another great thing to conquer the first spot faster.

Sure, .com sounds fancy and people might type it in or mistake the extension sometimes but that doesn't mean you shouldn't develop .us into a profitable business.