GI Bill - education benefit programs, forms, legal advice, payments.
Contact the VA - Search for FAQs, Education Benefits Inquiries, Board of Veterans Appeals, Contact by Phone, Contact by US Mail.
Burial & Memorial Benefits - The VA National Cemetery Administration honors the military service of our Nation's veterans. We provide a dignified burial and lasting memorial for veterans and their eligible family members and we maintain our veterans' cemeteries as national shrines.
Disabled Veterans Resources - The following web resources have been collected for posting on the VA Internet/Intranet web sites for disabled veterans seeking information or help using a personal computer.
Bookmarks and Hotlinks - bookmarks, appeals, benefits, homeless medical, GI Bill, education, burial.
Customer Service: Compliments, Questions, Complaints, Concerns - Tell us what you like, or what could be improved about the way VA provides services.
Facilities - Facilities Directory, Office of Facilities Management, Tele-Health.
Homeless Veterans - VA offers a wide array of special programs and initiatives specifically designed to help homeless veterans live as self-sufficiently and independently as possible. In fact, VA is the only Federal agency that provides substantial hands-on assistance directly to homeless persons.
VA Employee Benefits - As a VA employee, you are eligible for a wide variety of benefits.
Center for Minority Veterans Resource Links - index of web links of interest to veterans.
Benefits Manual / Folleto de Beneficios - in English y Español.
Disability Compensation - 2002 Rates.
Facts about the Department of Veterans Affairs - The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established on March 15, 1989. It succeeded the Veterans Administration and has responsibility for providing federal benefits to veterans and their dependents.
Special Programs - disabled veterans, homeless veterans, military services, minority veterans, women veterans, veterans in business.
Facilities and Leadership Directory - browse by administration or U.S. State, view an interactive map, or search for a facility by name.
Veterans Industry - vocational rehabilitation program that sub-contracts with industries to provide staffing for information technology, manufacturing, warehousing, construction, office support, retail and the services delivery industry. We also provide outsource support in assembly, packaging, sorting, grading, reclaiming, and recycling.
Center for Women Veterans - frequently asked questions, fact sheet, Advisory Committee On Women Veterans, military personnel records, active duty information, Women In Military Service For America Memorial, Vietnam Women's Memorial.
- The VA assists veterans with:
- Compensation
- Pensions
- Education Programs and the GI Bill
- Home Loan Guaranty
- Life Insurance
- Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment
- Survivors’ and Dependents’ Benefits
- Medical Care and the VA Hospital System
- Disability Programs
- The VA is offering free on-demand streaming video of the following:
- Thinking of Buying a Home?
- Thinking of Selling a House?
- Thinking of Refinancing?
- Energy Efficient Mortgages.
These instructional videos are 10-20 minutes in length. Each explains clearly a specific point of interest to Veterans.
VA Information Videos for Veterans
VA LOANS NEWS and INFO
WELCOME to VALERI (VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface)The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) completed a project where we redesigned virtually all home loan servicing regulations, processes, and reporting requirements. The new application service is called the VA Loan Electronic Reporting Interface (VALERI).
Our Veterans Need and Deserve Better Mental Health Care
A recent Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee oversight hearing focused on suicide, PTSD, military sexual trauma, and substance abuse. The parents of two service members who say the VA's mental health care system failed their children provided emotional testimony on their children's tragic deaths after returning from Iraq.
Byrd Presses Iraqi Government to Take Greater Role in Stability
As the violence stemming from the civil war in Iraq continues to escalate, U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., pressed forward with legislative efforts to spur greater responsibility in the Iraqi government.
National Guard Chief Warns Of Record-Wide Equipment Gap Caused By Deployments To The Middle East
Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Kit Bond (R-Mo.) Wednesday said the warning by the National Guard’s senior uniformed officer that about half of all National Guard equipment is now tied up in the Middle East “should set off alarm bells” and needs to be heeded by the White House and the Pentagon.
SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA) ON SENATE VOTE ON IRAQ SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING BILL
"I voted for the Iraq supplemental funding bill tonight because this legislation addresses critical domestic needs. It increases the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour from $5.15 over the next two years; this is the first increase in more than a decade, and a top priority of the new Democratic majority in Congress. It provides emergency funding for the State Children's Health Insurance program, which will prevent thousands of Iowa children from being cut from the rolls. It provides nearly $1.8 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, which will reduce the backlog of benefits claims and ensure that VA facilities are maintained at the highest level. It also provides a much needed boost to agricultural conservation."
VA To Establish Nursing Academy
To address a shortage of nurses across the nation and ensure that veterans continue to receive personalized, world-class care in Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities, VA has announced creation of a new multi-campus Nursing Academy.
Answers to your status woe
Permanent residents serving in the military at any time beginning Sept. 11, 2001, qualify for naturalization no matter how long they have been a permanent resident. Other military veterans qualify after three years as a permanent resident.
Consider your options before you sign an agreement for a mortgage
VA loans are guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for U.S. military veterans. Advantages are ease of qualification and often no down payment. But processing might take longer than for conventional loans. FHA and VA loans include a "funding fee" added to the balance.
NAR, MBA Applaud Proposed New Loan Guaranty Limits for Veterans
"The increase in the VA home loan guaranty will make it easier for more veterans, especially those living in areas with high housing costs, to own their own homes," said NAR President Al Mansell, ... More than 29 million veterans and service personnel are eligible for VA financing. The VA loan home loan guaranty program, created under the GI Bill in 1944, encourages private lenders to offer favorable home loan terms to qualified veterans. Under this program, the government guarantees 25 percent of the mortgage loan amount, enabling veterans to borrow up to four times the guaranty with no downpayment.
American Legion
Veterans shopping for a new home have some good news. A new law allows higher limit for VA home loans. No down payment home loans up to $359,650 are available under this law. The pervious ceiling was $240,000. With the VA guaranteeing part of the va loan, veterans, as well as service members and reservists, can get good interest rates without a down payment from banks and mortgage companies. Under the new law, the VA can guarantee one-year adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). It extends, through 2008, VA's "hybrid ARM program'' which allows veterans to get a favorable interest rate locked-in for at least 3 years.
Vietnam and Iraqi War Veterans need DD-214
Veterans may need a certified copy of the DD-214 military discharge for veterans benefits, VA loans, job applications, and other needs in the future.
Divorce and the VA Home Loan
Basically, the Veteran’s Administration guarantees the va home loan for the veteran. If the veteran defaults on the va loan, the VA will pay back the lender the amount of the loan guarantee. In a divorce, the non-veteran spouse often stays in the family residence purchased with a VA loan. Only when the non-veteran spouse refinances the residence can the veteran get the VA eligibility back. Unfortunately, if the non-veteran spouse has minimal income, or is otherwise unable to refinance under that spouse’s name alone, the VA eligibility may be postponed indefinitely.