Castling Variation - Touch Rook First

wait, are you supposed to move king first then the rook? i always moved the rook first because i read it on internet. (except for on chess.com)

Yes , the correct way to castle is to move the King first , castling is considered as a King move ... ( to safety hopefully  :-)   ) 

You can read extensive discussion of this topic on the US Chess forums. I am linking to a thread regarding the rule change. There is more if you search the forum.

New castling rule passed at 2014 Delegates Meeting

Is vertical castling allowed under USCF?

I know I'm late to this conversation but would it not be a sensible practice to finalize the global castling rule that as long as it's legal, if the king is lifted off the board the rook should be too before either piece is put back down? Rather than moving a piece and then moving another and debating whether or not the correct piece was moved first. Since castling is the only move involving two of your pieces if they're both lifted off the board the opposition can undeniably recognize that a castling move is happening.

By the way, there is another loophole in the law. Imagine the following hypothetical situation:

White plays 1. Rf1 (for whatever reason), but to his horror he notices that he could have given mate in one and quickly as lighting he puts his king on g1. The arbiter has seen the incident and obliges White to make a move with his rook, whereupon the latter gratefully plays 1. Rh8#.

As soon as white has placed the rook on f1 the move is done. So no matter how fast white picks up the king it is illegal. Thus if the arbiter saw the incident he also saw that the rook was moved to f1, so that is the move that counts.

I know from the past if you caught your opponent red-handed he could demans compulsory move with the rook. King is reverted back to e1. Thus allowing 1.Rh8#

Castling - It is the only time you get to move two pieces at the same time. 

Imagine if the King stand on d1 in Chess960. You can move your King to Kc1 and still debate whether to castle queenside or not, as long as you want. 

EscherehcsE.  Can anyone confirm this?  None of the tips in the USCF Official Rules  of Chess Confirm or deny the if the touch move is invalid normally they have tips that try to clarify this issue. 10I2 Variation 1: Rook touched first does not seem clear. I would interpret it probably wrong but if the clock has not been pressed in this example it is legal for Variation 1.  There is no mention that Rook touched first requires king to be touched immediately after.   I am open to clear understanding.  Reverse the thought process assume normal castling rules if the King is moved from e1 to g1 first we all would assume castling but what if the person waits a few seconds and move then moves the rook to f1 is that illegal?

I'd love a TD. This seems dumb to allow this rule in place.

What nonsense.

If a player stood on the letter of the law and demanded that someone who touched the rook first when it was obvious that his intention was to castle, should move the rook only, I personally would hold that player, the one standing on the letter of the law, in contempt. I would think that others would too.