Moving to the USA from Jamaica: Visas, Green Cards and Where to Apply

Jamaica is not among the 39 countries restricted by Proclamation 10998, which took effect on January 1, 2026. Visitor, work, and student visas are still processed in Kingston.

Immigrant visas, which most Jamaican movers use, have been affected by two pauses:

• Jamaica was also on the list of 75 countries whose immigrant visas were paused starting January 21, 2026. A federal court vacated that pause on August 21, 2026 (CLINIC v. Rubio), and the government has appealed, so the situation can still change.
• Since August 25, 2026, the State Department has paused immigrant visa interviews at US embassies and consulates worldwide while consular officers are trained on public charge reviews. Scheduled interviews were moved to later dates, and no restart date has been announced as of September 2026. Visitor, student, and temporary work visas are not part of this pause. Details: immigrant visa pause.

If your family petition is already approved, keep your National Visa Center (NVC) file complete so you are ready when interviews restart.

For an overview of every route, see our guide to US immigration and how US immigration works.

Yes. Jamaica is not in the Visa Waiver Program, so you need a B-2 tourist visa or B-1 business visa. Complete the DS-160, pay the fee, and attend an interview in Kingston. Show that you have a job or business, family, and reasons to return home. Visitors cannot work in the US, even informally. The State Department's guidance is to apply for a visitor or other temporary visa at the US embassy or consulate in the country where you live. Applying elsewhere is possible but can make it harder to show you qualify.

Seasonal work (H-2A and H-2B). Jamaica is on the list of countries whose nationals can take H-2A farm jobs and H-2B nonfarm seasonal jobs. A US employer must first get a temporary labor certification and file a petition; you then interview in Kingston. H-2 rules bar employers and recruiters from charging workers recruitment fees, so be careful with agents who ask for money.

Teachers and nurses. US school districts recruit Jamaican teachers on H-1B and J-1 visas, and Jamaican nurses often immigrate through EB-3 after passing the NCLEX-RN.

E-2 investors. Jamaica's investment treaty with the US entered into force in 1997, so Jamaican nationals can qualify for the E-2 investor visa (but not the E-1 trader visa).

Students. Since September 15, 2026, new F-1 students are admitted until a fixed date instead of for "duration of status", so you may need to file for an extension if your program runs longer. See F-1 fixed admission period.

Family. Family sponsorship is by far the most common way Jamaicans get green cards. Spouses, unmarried children under 21, and parents of adult US citizens have no annual cap. Other relatives wait in the F1 to F4 lines. Jamaicans use rest-of-world dates in the Visa Bulletin, but the sibling (F4) and married-child (F3) categories still take many years. See priority dates.

Diversity Visa. Jamaican natives were not eligible for DV-2026 because more than 50,000 Jamaicans immigrated to the US in the previous five years. You may still qualify through a spouse's or, in limited cases, a parent's country of birth. The Diversity Visa (DV) lottery is paused: visa issuance stopped on December 23, 2025, and DV-2027 registration never opened. See DV lottery paused.

The US Embassy in Kingston handles all visa categories for Jamaica, and it also serves the Cayman Islands. Book appointments on the embassy's website. See our visa interview guide and consular processing guide.

For immigrant visas, the State Department's Jamaica page lists:

• Police certificate: a police record from the Jamaica Constabulary Force. You pay at a tax office and then give fingerprints at the Criminal Records Office, 34 Duke Street, Kingston. If you live abroad, someone in Jamaica must apply for you. If you have convictions, you receive a letter listing convictions that are not "spent."
• Birth certificate: the computer-generated birth certificate from the Registrar General's Department (RGD). Older handwritten versions are no longer accepted.
• Marriage and divorce records: marriage certificates from the RGD; divorce decrees from the Supreme Court.

You also need police certificates from other countries where you lived for the required period.

The largest Jamaican communities are in New York City (especially Flatbush and East Flatbush in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and southeast Queens) and South Florida (Lauderhill, Miramar, Fort Lauderdale, and Miami). Other large communities are in Hartford, Connecticut, the Atlanta area, Philadelphia, and the Washington, DC area. Caribbean churches, cultural festivals, and Jamaican associations are strong support networks.