Are 'climb via a SID' instructions actually used in the US?
In my experience, I've received a climb via SID many times at airports like Las Vegas and Teterboro.  

This is common at certain airports, but a lot of airports don't use it because the procedures aren't designed that way. 

I think that a lot of pilots, especially those flying smaller non-turbine powered aircraft, don't receive this type of clearance because:


They are flying at smaller airports that don't have a SID which uses it, or
They are not assigned the SID's which do have it because the SID is only assigned to turbine-powered aircraft or aircraft capable of flight above a certain speed or altitude.


It is also a relatively new procedure in the US.  They were originally going to start using it in 2014, but it got delayed and was finally implemented a year or two ago (I don't remember exactly when).  For a while, the US was only using "descend via" clearances, and not "climb via" clearances.

Here are a couple of resources about this:


NBAA PBN site
FAA Climb Via/Descend Via Speed Clearances
Frequently Asked Questions
FAA “Climb Via” and “Descend Via” Procedures and Phraseology Air Traffic Policy Notice