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May 2025
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Department of Veterans Affairs Virtual Veteran Town Hall and Claims Clinic: June 11 & 13
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Virtual Veteran Town Hall
June 11th - 5:00 pm Indochina Time (ICT)
The Pittsburgh VBA Regional Office is proud to host another Virtual Veteran Town Hall. While this Town Hall is directed at Veterans living in Thailand or surrounding areas, all Veterans and Service Members living outside the U.S. are welcome to attend.
Please join this virtual live session addressing your needs as a Veteran residing outside the U.S. with representatives from:
- Pittsburgh VBA Regional Office
- VA's Medical Disability Examination Office
- Foreign Medical Program
ATTENDANCE CAPACITY IS LIMITED. REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED.
You will receive access to the virtual event after registration.
The Virtual Town Hall will include a Q&A session after the formal presentations. If you are unable to attend, you may submit questions about VA benefits at any time to AskVA
Virtual Veterans Claims Clinic
June 13th - 7:00 am to 1:30 pm and 5:00pm to 9:00 pm Indochina Time (ICT)
VA Representatives will be virtually available to answer specific claims questions and assist with your VA claim process. Please schedule your virtual appointment here by June 10, 2025:
How You Can Help with Completing Your VA Exam
Veterans living overseas may face challenge when it comes to completing their VA disability examinations. In areas where there are no VA contracted examination providers, the VA offers an alternative process.
Foreign Out-of-Network (FOON) Process
If there are no VA contracted examination providers near your physical location, the VA will process your claim using our Foreign Out-of-Network (FOON) process. Here's how that works:
- You will received the appropriate Disability Benefits Questionnaire (DBQ) for the disabilities you are claiming.
- You take the DBQ to a local medical provider of your choice for completion.
- The medical provider conducts the necessary exam and documents the findings on the DBQ.
- You submit the completed DBQ to us.
FOON Exam Assistance
The VA offers translation support to ensure the FOON process works smoothly.
- DBQ Translation Services - If your local medical provider requires the DBQ in their native language, the VA will translate the form for you. Simple e-mail the Pittsburg VBA Regional Office Foreign Exam Mailbox at: FOREIGNEXAM21.VBAPIT@va.gov to request translation assistance.
- Medical Evidence Submission - If additional medical evidence is needed to support your claim, you can submit it to the VA like any other evidence. We are able to translate foreign medical documents if necessary.
Ensuring your physical address and contact information are accurate is essential for the VA examination process in general, but is especially important for us to determine whether or not the FOON process is necessary and to process your claim without delays, even if you live far from a VA contacted examination provider.
VA Streamlines Direct Deposit Process
VA has updates several benefits application forms to make enrolling in direct deposit easier for Veterans. These changes eliminate the previous requirement to submit a voided check or deposit slip when providing bank account information.
International Bank Accounts
If you use a foreign bank account for your VA benefit payments, contact 1+918-781-7550 for assistance with setting up or updating international direct deposit information.
Assistance is available Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 5:30pm U.S. Eastern Time.
Learn More
Visit VA Direct Deposit Information to get full details.
VA: Health and Benefits Mobile APP
An app to help you quickly and easily manage your VA benefits and services
VA's app allows you to quickly and easily check the status of your services and complete simple transactions across health care and benefits.
GI Bill Foreign Program
The GI Bill Foreign Program allows Veterans to use their GI Bill to study at a foreign school under certain conditions and eligibility requirements. Veterans that want to pursue an education program at a foreign school should get VA approval for their preferred program before enrolling.
Find more information, visit:
FourBlock provides free employment resources for Veterans
Access instructors, coaches, employer partners and a vast network of alumni at no cost. FourBlock delivers a variety of online employment resources designed specifically for individuals at every stage of their transition from the military to civilian employment. Their Global-Virtual cohort is best suited for student Veterans and active-duty service members stationed overseas with a focus on the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Find more information, visit:
Report suspected fraud
The Department of Veterans Affairs partnered in the launch of VSAFE.gov and 1-833-38V-SAFE (1-833-388-7233) - a government-wide website and call center designed to protect Veterans, service members, and their families from fraud and scams.
These resources will help inform Veterans and their families of common fraud schemes, give them tools to protect themselves, and provide an outlet for reporting and further assistance. The call center and website combine resources from the Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of State, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission, Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, and the Office of Management & Budget to ensure that there is no "wrong door" approach for Veterans and Service members to access reporting tools and resources to combat fraud.
The Veteran community has been affected by the growing fraudulent schemes of claims predators. Claims predators are "bad actors" that try to charge Veterans a fee to "help" them process their claims with VA. Claims predators advertise their ability to expedite the claim processing times and guarantee higher disability benefits evaluations in exchange for their paid services. These schemes target Veteran's hard-earned benefits and may subject Veterans to unnecessary fees.
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Foreign claim jurisdiction
Claimants that live overseas or in foreign countries have their claims managed by specific stations depending on their location and the issue claimed. Jurisdiction over claims involving foreign residency is divided among the following offices:
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Pittsburgh Regional Office for live compensation claims, automobile grants, auto adaptive equipment, and translations.
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Philadelphia Regional Office for all service-connected (SC) death and burial claims, including claims from the Philippines.
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Milwaukee and St. Paul Regional Offices for non service-connected pension claims.
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Indianapolis Regional Office for claims where the beneficiary has a fiduciary.
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Buffalo Regional Office for education claims.
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Muskogee Regional Office for international Direct Deposit.
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Seattle Regional Office for Appeals.
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VA Central Office for special adaptive housing.
Note: Any claims from the Philippines, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, Mariana Islands, or American Samoa are considered Domestic claims. Compensation claims from the Philippines are handled at the Manila Regional Office. The Milwaukee Regional Office is responsible for Philippine pension claims and the Philadelphia Regional Office is responsible for all original service-connected death claims from the Philippines. Compensation claims from Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are handled at the San Juan Regional Office. Compensation claims from the other U.S. territories listed are handled at the Honolulu Regional Office.
How can Veterans reach VA?
VA has many avenues in place to help Veterans and their family members residing OCONUS. For Veterans or other VA claimants residing outside of the US, you can contact VA by phone to get a status of your claim or answer general benefits inquiry at 1-800-827-1000 or 412-395-6272.
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Scheduling an appointment
Veterans overseas may also schedule an appointment with the Pittsburgh VA Regional Office using the Visitor Engagement Reporting Application (VERA):
Note that you should select Virtual appointment, Pennsylvania as the State and Pittsburgh as the Office. This will route your appointment to the Pittsburgh Regional Office, which has jurisdiction of all overseas claims. Veterans can also call the VA Benefits Customer Service line at 1-800-827-1000 to speak to a representative regarding their claim or ask a question through AskVA.
Veteran Service Officers (VSO)
VSOs in Pittsburgh are great assets for Veterans living outside the U.S. They are most familiar with the nuances of the claims process for Veterans abroad.
Need to contact your local U.S. Embassy?
For a complete list of embassies from the U.S. Department of State, visit: https://www.usembassy.gov/.
How to submit VA correspondence
Documents may be submitted by mail, in person at a VA regional office or electronically. However, submitting correspondence electronically is the fastest method of receipt.
VA provides several tools to assist in electronic submission:
Mailing address:
Department of Veterans Affairs Evidence Intake Center
PO Box 4444
Janesville, WI 54537-4444
Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) ships to APO, FPO, and DPO Addresses
If you are shipping to a military base or diplomatic location, you'll be using an APO, FPO or DPO address. GovX makes this process easy!
- APO stands for Army Post Office and is associated with Army or Air Force installations.
- FPO stands for Fleet Post Office and is associated with Navy installations and ships.
- DPO stands for Diplomatic Post Office and is associated with U.S. Diplomatic locations.
For instructions on proper formatting of APO, FPO and DPO addresses, visit:
Helpful Tips and Restrictions:
- It is not necessary to add the specific military formation or the recipient's rank.
- When mailing to a DPO address, do not add the street address of the embassy.
- Several restrictions apply when shipping to a military or diplomatic address:
- Packages must weigh 70 lbs or less and cannot exceed 130" in combined length and girth.
- You cannot send any items restricted by the USPS (see full list here) or any perishable food.
All APO, FPO or DPO packages will be shipped via USPS. Orders shipping overseas can take approximately 4 - 5 weeks to reach the APO, FPO or DPO hub. It will take additional time to receive your package from there.
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Benefits for Deported Veterans
Removal of an unnaturalized citizen in the U.S. military, or who served with the U.S. military, is authorized and evaluated only by The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has no legal jurisdiction over ICE.
Deportation/immigration status does not affect entitlement to VA benefits. Resources for Veterans residing outside of the United States:
- VA's Veterans Living Overseas webpage
- Topics include information on direct deposit, currency conversion, foreign approved schools, healthcare, and more.
- Other federal agency information
- Includes a referral to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding naturalization options for non-US citizen Veterans.
Factors related to a Veteran's deportation that may result in a bar to VA benefits include:
- Dishonorable discharge from military service (38 U.S.C. § 5303)
- Acts of mutiny, treason, sabotage, or rendering assistance to an enemy of the United States or its allies, or conviction for subversive activities (38 U.S.C. §§ 6104, 6105)
- Incarceration of a U.S. citizen for conviction of a felony (38 U.S.C. § 5313)
- Residence in territory of the enemy (38 U.S.C. § 5308).
- Incarceration of a foreign-born Veteran (classified as an unnaturalized citizen) for minor offenses (misdemeanors) under immigration law.
Foreign Medical Program (FMP)
FMP Applications can be downloaded and submitted by e-mail to hac.fmp@va.gov, fax to 303-331-7803, or mailed to:
VHA Office of Integrated Veteran Care
ATTN: FMP
PO Box 469061
Denver, CO 80246-9061
For more information, please visit the following websites:
Veteran Health Identification Cards (VHIC)
Veterans may now obtain a Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC) online.
You can sign in to AccessVA to request your VHIC. You’ll need a Login.gov, ID.me, DS Logon, My HealtheVet, or Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC) account. Please note, if you live outside the U.S. and you do not have one of the aforementioned accounts, you'll need to create an ID.me account to verify your identify.
For additional information and instructions, visit:
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Calling from Overseas?
- On Base- DSN 988, then Press 1
- Off Base:
- Europe: 1 844-702-5495
- Southwest Asia: 1 855-422-7719
- Pacific: 1 844-702-5493
You may also visit www.veteranscrisisline.net to chat online or text 838255 for immediate help.
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Additional VA resources
- Whether you’re just getting out of the service or you’ve been a civilian for years now, the VA Welcome Kit can help guide you to the benefits and services you’ve earned.
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Feedback Requested
We’d love to hear your feedback regarding the VA OCONUS Connection! We want to provide the information you need - please tell us what topics you would like addressed in the future.
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Stay connected
Please encourage Veterans and separating Service Members that you know residing outside of the US to visit the Pittsburgh VA Regional Office website to sign up to receive this quarterly newsletter, The OCONUS Connection, in which we share information pertinent to Veterans living overseas. Veterans and Service Members can subscribe to this publication by submitting their email address through the link provided on our website.
Help us serve you!
If you are interested in having a VA representative from the Pittsburgh RO attend an upcoming virtual event, participate in a virtual speaking engagement, or provide a benefits briefing to your group, please let us know!
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Veterans Affairs of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. For other than authorized VA activities, the Department does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. All links are provided with the intent of meeting the mission of the Department. Please let us know about existing external links which you believe are inappropriate.
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