US Visa Application in Jamaica: Fees, Steps and the Kingston Interview

The fees and rules in this guide are as of October 2026. They come from the embassy, its appointment service, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS and the Federal Register. US visa rules changed several times in 2025 and 2026, so read the embassy's visa page again before you pay or fly.

Nine official answers sum up the Kingston process

Seven steps take you from the DS-160 to a visa in your passport

The State Department's appointment service for Jamaica lists the process in this order.

1. Pick the visa type. Tourism, business and medical treatment trips use the B visitor visa (B-1/B-2). Study, exchange and work visas add their own documents and fees.
2. Fill in the DS-160 on the State Department's Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC) at ceac.state.gov. It's the only place the form exists. Save the confirmation number, which starts with AA, and submit the form at least 3 business days before your interview.
3. Create an account on the appointment site at ais.usvisa-info.com and enter that DS-160 number. Your name, birth date and passport number there must match the DS-160 exactly. Pick where the courier should return your passport.
4. Pay the visa fee in the same account.
5. Book your interview.
6. Attend the interview at the embassy, 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6.
7. Track your case on CEAC and collect your passport from the courier.

For a visitor visa, CEAC and the appointment site are the only two websites you use to apply. The appointment site says its team will never ask for your sign-in details by phone or email, and it bans bots and scripts. If a consultant books for you and enters a wrong DS-160 number, fixing it is up to you and that consultant.

The site is also plain about timing. There's no guarantee a visa will be issued, so don't buy tickets or make final travel plans until you have it.

The $185 visitor visa fee is non-refundable and lasts 365 days

Every applicant pays the nonimmigrant visa (MRV) application fee, children included, whether or not a visa is issued. The appointment site lists these amounts by visa type:

Students (F, M) and exchange visitors (J) also pay the separate SEVIS fee. A reciprocity fee at issuance applies only when the State Department's schedule for your nationality and visa type sets one.

• Cash: choose Pay by Cash on the payment page, print the instruction sheet and pay at the bank. The site's bank list points to National Commercial Bank (NCB) branches. A cash payment takes up to 2 business days to show up, and each slip works for one transaction.
• Card: pay online by credit card. If the payment times out, don't pay again. Email the visa support center at Jamaica.Visas@gdit-gss.com to check, because a refund for a duplicate payment can take a long time.
• Validity: you must book within 365 days of paying, though the interview itself can fall later. The fee can't move to another person or another country.
• Refusals: the fee isn't refunded if the visa is refused, and applying again after a 214(b) refusal means paying a new one.

Kingston opens interview slots six months ahead, usually on Mondays

There's no fixed total time. Getting a US visa from Jamaica takes the wait for an interview slot, plus processing after the interview, plus up to 3 business days with the courier. The appointment site's Visa Wait Times page links to the State Department's current estimate for Kingston.

The embassy adds new appointments in every category six months out, so July slots open in January. It says the updates usually go live on Mondays, or the next business day after a Monday holiday, at around 1:00 p.m. Jamaica time.

To look for an earlier date, sign in and choose Reschedule Appointment. You keep your current slot unless you confirm a new one. Once your fee is more than 365 days old, though, canceling or rescheduling means paying a new fee. Don't refresh the calendar for hours, because the site warns that heavy refreshing can get an account deactivated.

Some trips are urgent and unforeseen, such as a funeral, a medical emergency or a school start date. For those, book the first regular slot, then choose Request Expedite in your account and attach proof. The consular section decides each request. The appointment site's FAQ on expedites also describes a Paid Expedite option for B visas: $750 per applicant for an interview within 10 business days. It buys an earlier appointment, not a faster decision or a visa. The fee is non-refundable, and the option shows up only in countries that offer it.

Since September 6, 2025, nonimmigrant applicants should apply in their country of residence or nationality. A Jamaican living abroad can interview in Kingston as a national or apply where they live. Residents of the Cayman Islands also apply through the embassy in Kingston.

Bring your passport, DS-160 page and photo, plus proof of your plans

The appointment site's required documents list for every visa type is short:

• Your passport, plus any older passport that holds your most recent US visa
• The DS-160 confirmation page, with the same AA number you used to book
• The Confirmation and Instructions page printed from the appointment site
• One 2 x 2 inch (5 x 5 cm) color photo taken within the last 6 months

That list also says a passport must be valid for six months beyond your stay, unless a country agreement exempts you. Jamaica has that exemption. CBP's six-month validity list includes Jamaica, so a Jamaican passport only needs to be valid for the planned stay. Keep one or two blank pages for the visa and entry stamps.

At the interview, the officer may ask for evidence of the trip's purpose, your plan to leave the US afterward and your ability to pay. The site names job and family ties as evidence that may cover the first two. If a relative in the US is paying, you can show proof that someone else will cover some or all of the costs.

For medical treatment, be ready to show three more papers. Bring a diagnosis from your local doctor and a letter from the US doctor or hospital with the expected length and cost of treatment. Add proof that treatment, travel and living costs are covered.

Student and exchange applicants add the Form I-20 or DS-2019 and the SEVIS fee receipt. The embassy's latest notice, dated September 18, 2026, tells F, M and J applicants, H-1B workers and several other categories to set every social media account to public. B visitor applicants are not on that list.

Interview day at 142 Old Hope Road: arrive early, and bring your phone

The consular section is inside the embassy at 142 Old Hope Road in Liguanea, Kingston 6. A JUTC bus stop sits almost in front of it, and taxis have a drop-off zone there. The embassy has no visitor parking, and its directions page names a commercial lot at 27 Munroe Road.

Arrive 15 minutes before your slot for airport-style screening. Only applicants with appointments go in, and a parent or legal guardian must come with any applicant under 18.

The embassy's list of permitted items allows cellphones, earbuds and smart watches, with signs in the waiting areas setting how you may use them. Declare medical devices and pills at screening. The list bans:

• computers, cameras, USB drives, memory cards, headphones and speakers
• bags or purses larger than 18 x 18 inches
• liquids, gels, lotions and powders, apart from small amounts of baby formula, baby food and milk
• lighters, matches, flashlights, knives, weapons and alcohol

If a disability or medical condition affects your interview, ask for an accommodation by email after you book. Write to KingstonNIV@state.gov with V44, the words ACCESSIBILITY APPOINTMENT REQUEST and your full name in the subject line. The waiting room is wheelchair accessible.

Flying in for the interview from the Cayman Islands or from a home abroad? You'll check email for appointment and courier notices and look up CEAC on your phone, so set up a data plan for Jamaica before you land.

Some B-1/B-2 and H-2A renewals can skip the interview

The same how-to page describes a renewal path without an interview. The questions you answer while booking decide who gets it, and an officer can still call anyone in. In general, the site lists these conditions, and they can vary by country:

• You're renewing a full-validity B-1, B-2 or B-1/B-2 visa, or an H-2A visa, that is still valid or expired within the past 12 months.
• You were at least 18 when that visa was issued.
• You're applying in the consular district where you live, or in your country of nationality where that's required.
• All 10 fingerprints were taken for the last visa.
• That visa wasn't lost, stolen or revoked.
• You've never been refused a US visa, unless the refusal was overcome or waived.

If the qualifying questions never appear while you book, you don't qualify or the option isn't open in Kingston at that time, so you attend an interview.

After the interview, track the case and collect your passport from the courier

Processing after the interview varies by case, so the appointment site sends you to CEAC for status. Once the consular section hands your passport to the courier, it takes up to 3 business days to be ready for pickup or delivery. The courier emails you a tracking number.

• Pickup: bring official photo ID within 30 days, or the passport goes back to the embassy.
• Someone else collecting: they need a letter you signed that names them, and a Justice of the Peace must sign it too (or use a notarized power of attorney). They also bring a copy of your ID and their own ID.
• Home or office delivery: the courier tries twice and releases the parcel only to an adult who signs.
• Changing the pickup point: allowed until 24 hours before your appointment.

The appointment site lists two courier service points: the Kingston Document Service Center at Shop 23, Liguanea Post Mall, 115 Hope Road (weekdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., no parking), and DHL at 14 Sunset Blvd in Montego Bay (weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.), where the courier charges extra for drop-offs.

A 214(b) refusal and a 221(g) letter need different next steps

A refused applicant gets a letter that explains the decision. The appointment site describes two kinds:

• 214(b): you don't qualify for that visa at this time under US law. To try again, you file a new DS-160, pay a new fee, book a new interview and show how your circumstances have changed.
• 221(g): the case isn't finished. The letter lists the extra steps, or says the case needs administrative processing. You follow its instructions and don't pay the fee again.

Send Form DS-5535 only if the officer or your letter asks for it. Kingston wants it as a PDF emailed to KingstonNIV@state.gov, with V11, DS-5535 and your SURNAME, GIVEN NAME in the subject line. The embassy may close the case if the information doesn't arrive within one year.

Six rule changes from 2025 and 2026 touch Jamaican applicants

The appointment service posts each policy change on its announcements page. These are the ones that touch a Jamaican visa application:

Proclamation 10998, signed on December 16, 2025, took effect on January 1, 2026, and Jamaica is not among the countries it names. The visa bond rule lets consular officers require a bond from B-1/B-2 applicants who are nationals of countries the State Department lists on travel.state.gov. It can add a country with 15 days' notice, so check that list before you apply.

A CBP officer at the airport decides how long you can stay

A visa lets you travel to a US port of entry and ask to be admitted. It doesn't guarantee entry. The CBP officer who meets you decides whether you come in and how long you can stay.

CBP records your arrival as an electronic I-94. You can look it up or print it on CBP's I-94 website or in the CBP Link app. That record helps when a school, employer or government agency asks for proof of status.

Your Jamaican plan or a travel eSIM gets you online in the US

Your first hours in the US run on your phone: maps, a ride from the airport and messages to the family meeting you.

Start with your Jamaican plan. If it includes US roaming at a daily price you're happy with, you need nothing else. If it doesn't, and your phone supports eSIM, one of the eSIM data plans for the US can carry your data while your Jamaican SIM stays in for calls and texts.

HelloRoam's US plans connect to the AT&T and Verizon networks, and our support team answers 24/7. Install the eSIM at home in Jamaica while you're on Wi-Fi, then turn it on when the plane lands.