Become a trademark examining attorney

• Transportation
• Hotels
• Things-to- do
• Restaurants
• City Parking 

By Metro

Take the Yellow or Blue Line Metro to the King St.-Old Town station in Alexandria. Follow the pedestrian tunnel under Duke Street. The George Washington Masonic Memorial will be on your RIGHT, the Metro behind you, and USPTO headquarters in front of you.
The main buildings (Madison East and Madison West) are located on Dulany Street about 2.5 blocks from the Duke Street pedestrian tunnel. You can identify them by the triangular-shaped glass-roofed atrium that joins the East and West buildings.

DASH Bus

Alexandria's local bus system (Routes A.T.6 and A.T.7)

Driving from D.C.

Take the 14th Street Bridge to George Washington Parkway going SOUTH toward Alexandria, Virginia; Make a RIGHT onto Duke Street; Make a LEFT at the traffic light onto Holland Lane; Make the THIRD RIGHT onto Emerson Avenue; Proceed ONE BLOCK on Emerson to the East Garage.

Driving from the Beltway, points east/north (Inner Loop)

At the Eisenhower connector interchange take Eisenhower Avenue EAST [ RIGHT turn]; Go approximately 3 miles to the Eisenhower circle; Proceed counter-clockwise around Eisenhower Circle and veer off onto Holland Lane; Take FIRST LEFT onto Emerson Avenue; Proceed ONE BLOCK to the East Garage.

Parking

Parking is available in the East Garage, 551 John Carlyle Street, Alexandria, Virginia or in the West Garage at 550 Elizabeth Lane. Hourly and daily parking is on a first-come, first-served basis. Daily and hourly parkers will receive a ticket each time they enter the garage and must pay each time they leave the garage (cash or credit card only).

When the USPTO reopens, USPTO employees may sign up for monthly parking at a discounted rate of $90 per month by visiting the Colonial Parking Manager’s Office located in either the East Garage on Level P3 (street level) or in the West Garage on Level P1 (also on the street level).

Both offices are open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday except for federal holidays. Upon submitting your application, a Colonial representative will provide you with a Tag Master that you can use immediately to enter/exit the garages.

Additional outdoor parking is located near the Hoffmann Center on Eisenhower Avenue adjacent to the Eisenhower Avenue Metro station or at the Hoffmann Town Center Garage, 2380 Mill Road, Alexandria.

You will learn how to open a USPTO Pre-Tax Parking Reimbursement Account during your new employee orientation session.

Fitness facilities (currently closed)

The USPTO’s on-campus Fitness Center features a wide range of exercise equipment and more than 40 group exercise classes a week for all fitness levels. 
 
Places to eat

The Madison West Building features a full “food court style” area with a variety of culinary stations. There are also several restaurants within very short walking distance of the Madison East and West buildings. (See campus map.)

Childcare (currently closed)

The USPTO’s campus also features the Innovation Station Child Development Center for infants through pre-K childcare. The center is conveniently located in the Jefferson building on the same side as the Madison East building, and is very popular among employees.

The location of the USPTO

The USPTO is located at 600 Dulany Street in Alexandria, Virginia which is about 8 miles south of Washington, D.C. The closest metro stop is the King Street Metro which is serviced by both the Yellow and Blue Lines—more on the Metro below.

Work schedule

Your work schedule will be 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Take home pay
One of the most frequently asked questions by new examining attorneys is how much can you expect to take home every two weeks (we are paid on a bi-weekly schedule). This is a hard question to answer because it depends on how much is deducted for state taxes (Maryland, D.C., and Virginia all tax at different rates), federal tax withholding, health insurance choice, retirement savings, etc. However, an examining attorney living in Virginia generally brings home between $1,500 - $2,000 per bi-weekly pay period. Again, this is a ballpark figure that depends on a lot of variables, but anecdotally a reasonable estimate.

First paycheck

Your first paycheck will be deposited about three to four weeks after your start date as you need must work a full two-week pay period before submitting a timesheet, followed by a week for processing. You will be paid bi-weekly thereafter. We share this information so you aren’t caught off guard!

Where to live

As you begin to plan your budget and look for a place to live, one thing to know about the D.C. area is that the closer you live to the Metro, the higher the rent tends to be. The inverse is also true.

• Some employees live within walking distance of the USPTO in the Carlyle neighborhood or Old Town Alexandria; many enjoy the very easy commute. This area is very quiet with a movie theater and some restaurants.
• Moving up the Yellow and Blue train lines is the Braddock Road neighborhood. This neighborhood is growing really quickly. There are lots of apartment buildings to choose from, and it borders Old Town Alexandria which dates back to before the Revolutionary War.
• Next are the Del Ray and Potomac Yard neighborhoods. Del Ray is a great place for families and its main street, Mt. Vernon Avenue, is filled with cafes, shops, yoga studios and many other bohemian outlets. Potomac Yards is north of Del Ray and Braddock Road. Neither neighborhood has quick and easy access to the Metro, but both have many bus routes that are great options. The north end of Potomac Yards has the area’s Target, a movie theater, a Best Buy, and a variety of other restaurants and shops.
• The next Metro stops are Crystal City and Pentagon City. These stops are within walking distance of one another and offer a great mix of stores, restaurants and the Pentagon City shopping mall. Many employees enjoy these areas because they also offer a short commute to work and easy access via Metro to the District, Virginia, and Maryland.
• At the Pentagon, the Yellow Line goes into the District while the Blue Line goes into Rosslyn where it meets the Orange Line. On the Orange Line are the Court House, Clarendon, Virginia Square and Ballston neighborhoods. These areas are quite trendy and feature a wide variety of restaurants and shops. Although the commute on the train from these areas can run about 45 minutes or more, they are still considered a relatively easy commute to work.
• In the District, the neighborhoods of Foggy Bottom, U Street, Columbia Heights, Southwest/Navy Yard, and Du Pont are all popular places to live but can be expensive and have a longer commute.
• If you drive there are a great many choices—some of which are more affordable—outside the District, aka “outside the Beltway.”

Commuting

• Driving—The USPTO has two parking decks that charge $10 a day. However, if you plan on driving regularly, you can buy a monthly pass for $90 and sign up to have the payment come from pre-tax dollars.
• Biking—The USPTO has bike lockers for rent if you ride your bike to work.
• Public Transit—This is by far the most popular option for two reasons. First, the King Street Metro is very close to the office and quite convenient. Second, the federal government offers a commuting stipend to spend on bus and rail transportation. The current stipend goes up to about $215 a month. You can choose either the monthly parking program (you pay the discounted monthly rate), or the stipend, but not both. You can still park in the deck at any time but you will pay the normal daily rate.

Dress

The USPTO is a casual work environment. While you are more than welcome to wear a suit every day, examining attorneys usually dress more casually. Employees are expected to maintain a neat, clean, business-like appearance during working hours. However, there is no need to purchase a whole new “smart” wardrobe—unless you really want to- because it isn’t required for this position.

Buddies

You will be assigned a buddy who can field questions you might have that are not covered here, and to help you acclimate to the office.

• American Muslim and Arabic Cultural Association (AMACA) 
• American Romanian Cultural Society (ARCS) 
• Asian Pacific American Network (APANET) | APANET's email  
• Bangladeshi-American Intellectual Property Organization (BAIPO) | BAIPO's email 
• Blacks in Government (BIG) 
• Caribbean Intellectual Property Association (CIPA) 
• Federally Employed Women (FEW) 
• Intellectual Property Society of Iranian Americans (IPSIA) 
• Korean-American Intellectual Property Organization (KAIPO) | KAIPO's email
• Lambda PTO | Lambda PTO's email 
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 
• responsAbility 
• Society of Ethiopian American Engineers and Scientists (SEAES)
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) SHPE-USPTO
• USPTO Military Association (UMA) | UMA's email
• USPTO Network of Executive Women (NEW)
• Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE)
• Women in Technology and Science at the Rocky Mountain Regional Office (WITS)