Nationalities › Jamaica
Jamaica · North America
U.S. visas issued to nationals of Jamaica
The reports below contain preliminary data which are subject to change. Beginning with FY 2020, individual monthly issuance reports should not be aggregated, as this will not provide an accurate issuance total for the fiscal year to date. Instead, refer to our annual Report of the Visa Office for final full Fiscal Year statistics.
In September 2025, 6,938 nonimmigrant visas were issued to nationals of Jamaica, the 15th largest count among 203 nationalities that month; that is close to September 2024 (6,737, +3%).
For the full fiscal year the Department's Report of the Visa Office lists 118,538 nonimmigrant visas issued to nationals of Jamaica in FY2024, 1.1% of the 10,969,936 issued worldwide and the 14th largest nationality of 197. The previous year's figure was 95,973 (FY2023).
The largest classes in September 2025 were B1/B2 (temporary visitor for business and pleasure) with 5,527, H2B (temporary worker performing other services) with 840 and H2A (temporary worker performing agricultural services) with 113. 1,221 immigrant visas were issued to applicants chargeable to Jamaica in the same month, led by IR5 (255) and IR2 (244).
The Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (visitor) visa applicants who are nationals of Jamaica was 44.26% in FY2025, close to the North America median of 38.12%; it was 43.67% in FY2024. The rate covers B visas only and is the Department's own calculation, counting each applicant once by their final status in the year.
Jamaica does not appear in the Department's Diversity Visa selectee lists for the years on this site, which usually means its nationals were not eligible to enter.
The U.S. post in Jamaica (Kingston) issued 7,190 nonimmigrant visas in September 2025, to applicants of all nationalities.
Nonimmigrant issuances by month
Compared with the North America region and the world
| Measure | Jamaica | North America (22 nationalities) | All nationalities |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nonimmigrant visas, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | 118,538 | 3,215,329 | 10,969,936 |
| Median nationality, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office | — | 16,925 | 7,901 |
| Nonimmigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 6,938 | 251,623 | 823,557 |
| Change on Sep 2024 | +3% | — | -11% |
| Immigrant visas, Sep 2025 | 1,221 | — | 45,966 |
| B-visa adjusted refusal rate, FY2025 | 44.26% | 38.12% | 31.28% |
Fiscal-year rows are the Department's Report of the Visa Office tables; monthly rows are the September 2025 report alone. Region and world refusal figures are medians across the nationalities listed in the Department's table for that year; regions follow the Report of the Visa Office grouping.
Visa classes, FY2024, Report of the Visa Office
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued, FY2024 | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 83,957 | 70.8% |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 12,059 | 10.2% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 10,477 | 8.8% |
| H2A | Temporary worker performing agricultural services | 4,718 | 4% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 1,265 | 1.1% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 1,192 | 1% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 1,131 | 1% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 615 | 0.5% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 595 | 0.5% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 478 | 0.4% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 279 | 0.2% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 254 | 0.2% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 253 | 0.2% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 195 | 0.2% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 155 | 0.1% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 139 | 0.1% |
| B2 | Temporary visitor for pleasure | 125 | 0.1% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 102 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 78 | 0.1% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 66 | 0.1% |
| F2 | Spouse or child of F1 | 58 | 0% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 46 | 0% |
| Q1 | Participant in an international cultural exchange program | 39 | 0% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 38 | 0% |
| A1 | Ambassador, public minister, career diplomat or consular officer, or immediate family | 33 | 0% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 32 | 0% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 29 | 0% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 21 | 0% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 20 | 0% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 19 | 0% |
From the Department's annual NIV detail table (nationality by class). Older symbol spellings in the table (B-1,2; H-1B) are shown in the current form.
Visa classes, September 2025
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| B1/B2 | Temporary visitor for business and pleasure | 5,527 | 79.7% |
| H2B | Temporary worker performing other services | 840 | 12.1% |
| H2A | Temporary worker performing agricultural services | 113 | 1.6% |
| C1/D | Combined transit and crewmember visa | 111 | 1.6% |
| J1 | Exchange visitor | 60 | 0.9% |
| J2 | Spouse or child of exchange visitor | 46 | 0.7% |
| A2 | Other foreign government official or employee, or immediate family | 36 | 0.5% |
| H4 | Spouse or child of H-1B/B1/C, H-2A/B, or H-3 | 31 | 0.4% |
| H1B | Temporary worker of distinguished merit and ability performing services other than as a registered nurse | 21 | 0.3% |
| C1 | Alien in transit | 20 | 0.3% |
| K1 | Fiance(e) of U.S. citizen | 18 | 0.3% |
| C3 | Foreign government official, immediate family, attendant, servant or personal employee, in transit | 17 | 0.2% |
| P3 | Artist or entertainer in a culturally unique program | 16 | 0.2% |
| O2 | Person accompanying and assisting in the artistic or athletic performance by O-1 | 15 | 0.2% |
| F1 | Student in an academic or language training program | 13 | 0.2% |
| G2 | Other representative of recognized foreign member government to international organization, and immediate family | 12 | 0.2% |
| B2 | Temporary visitor for pleasure | 7 | 0.1% |
| G4 | International organization officer or employee, and immediate family | 7 | 0.1% |
| E2 | Treaty investor, spouse or child | 5 | 0.1% |
| B1 | Temporary visitor for business | 4 | 0.1% |
| O1 | Person with extraordinary ability in sciences, arts, education, business or athletics | 4 | 0.1% |
| R2 | Spouse or child of R1 | 4 | 0.1% |
| K2 | Child of K-1 | 3 | 0% |
| L2 | Spouse or child of intracompany transferee | 3 | 0% |
| L1 | Intracompany transferee (executive, managerial, and specialized personnel continuing employment with international firm or corporation) | 2 | 0% |
| M1 | Vocational student and other nonacademic student | 1 | 0% |
| P1 | Internationally recognized athlete or member of internationally recognized entertainment group | 1 | 0% |
| P4 | Spouse or child of P-1, P-2, or P-3 | 1 | 0% |
Immigrant visa classes, September 2025 (foreign state of chargeability)
| Class | Description (State Department) | Issued | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| IR5 | Parent of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age | 255 | 20.9% |
| IR2 | Child of U.S. citizen | 244 | 20% |
| F1 | Family first preference: unmarried son or daughter of U.S. citizen, and child (F11, F12, B11, B12) | 209 | 17.1% |
| IR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen | 141 | 11.5% |
| F3 | Family third preference: married son or daughter of U.S. citizen, spouse and child (F31, F32, F33, C31-C33, B31-B33) | 91 | 7.5% |
| F2A | Family second preference (2A): spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (F21, F22, F23, C21-C23, B21-B23) | 79 | 6.5% |
| FX | Family second preference, exempt from country limitations: spouse or child of lawful permanent resident (FX1, FX2, FX3, CX1-CX3, BX1-BX3) | 56 | 4.6% |
| F2B | Family second preference (2B): unmarried son or daughter of lawful permanent resident, and child (F24, F25, C24, C25, B24, B25) | 49 | 4% |
| CR1 | Spouse of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 43 | 3.5% |
| F4 | Family fourth preference: brother or sister of U.S. citizen at least 21 years of age, spouse and child (F41, F42, F43) | 19 | 1.6% |
| E3 | Employment third preference: skilled worker or professional holding baccalaureate degree, spouse and child (E31, E32, E34, E35) | 17 | 1.4% |
| CR2 | Child of U.S. citizen (conditional status) | 13 | 1.1% |
| IB1 | Self-petition spouse of U.S. citizen | 3 | 0.2% |
| SB1 | Returning resident | 2 | 0.2% |
Nonimmigrant issuances by fiscal year, Report of the Visa Office
| Fiscal year | All classes | Visitors (B) | Students, exchange (F, M, J) | Temporary workers | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY2015 | 101,025 | 83,740 | 7,085 | 7,960 | — |
| FY2016 | 120,262 | 94,658 | 8,652 | 14,612 | +19% |
| FY2017 | 89,538 | 65,277 | 8,810 | 13,349 | -26% |
| FY2018 | 72,763 | 46,187 | 10,260 | 14,241 | -19% |
| FY2019 | 70,931 | 42,712 | 9,941 | 15,769 | -3% |
| FY2020 | 28,068 | 15,153 | 1,376 | 10,428 | -60% |
| FY2021 | 37,179 | 15,344 | 6,298 | 14,142 | +32% |
| FY2022 | 55,923 | 25,210 | 9,564 | 18,915 | +50% |
| FY2023 | 95,973 | 62,011 | 12,257 | 18,119 | +72% |
| FY2024 | 118,538 | 84,361 | 12,881 | 18,404 | +24% |
Fiscal years run October to September. Every row is the Department's final annual detail table for that year; the visitor, student and worker columns add the table's class columns within one year. No monthly reports are summed.
Adjusted B-visa refusal rate by fiscal year
Dark bar: Jamaica. Grey bar: North America median for the same year. The Department's rate covers B visas only; it counts each applicant once, in the status in which the fiscal year ended, so an applicant refused and later issued in the same year counts as an issuance. Source tables: FY2023, FY2024, FY2025.
U.S. posts in Jamaica
- Kingston: 7,190 nonimmigrant visas issued in Sep 2025, to applicants of all nationalities
Questions and answers
What is the U.S. visa refusal rate for nationals of Jamaica?
The State Department's adjusted refusal rate for B (business and tourist) visas was 44.26% in FY2025 against a North America median of 38.12%. The Department publishes this rate only for B visas and only by nationality; it counts each applicant once, by the status in which the year ended.
How many U.S. visas were issued to nationals of Jamaica last year?
118,538 nonimmigrant visas in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office, the Department's final annual figure. In September 2025, the latest monthly report, 6,938 were issued.
How does September 2025 compare with a year earlier for Jamaica?
6,938 nonimmigrant visas, close to September 2024 (6,737, +3%). Months are compared one to one; the Department says its monthly reports should not be added together.
Which visa classes do nationals of Jamaica receive most?
B1/B2 (83,957), H2B (12,059), J1 (10,477), H2A (4,718) and C1/D (1,265) in FY2024, Report of the Visa Office.
How many DV lottery selectees did Jamaica have?
Jamaica does not appear in the Diversity Visa selectee lists on this site.
Where do nationals of Jamaica apply?
Kingston is the U.S. post in Jamaica. Nationals may also apply at posts elsewhere, subject to each post's rules, so the nationality figures on this page and the post figures are different counts.
Where does this data come from?
The State Department's monthly nonimmigrant and immigrant visa issuance tables by nationality, the annual Report of the Visa Office detail tables, the annual adjusted B-visa refusal rate tables and the Diversity Visa selectee pages. Data through 30 Sep 2025.
Provenance
Source: U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs. Monthly Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Nationality and Visa Class; Monthly Immigrant Visa Issuances by Foreign State of Chargeability or Place of Birth and Visa Class; Report of the Visa Office NIV detail tables (workbook); Adjusted Refusal Rate, B-Visas Only, by Nationality; Diversity Visa selected entrants pages. All public domain. Data through 30 Sep 2025. See corrections.