THE United States Embassy in Kingston Visa Unit began using a new appointment scheduling system on Monday. Applicants should carefully follow the instructions below to schedule an appointment for nonimmigrant or immigrant visa services.

Nonimmigrant and K Fiancé(e) visas

Applicants who paid their visa application fee prior to March 13, but have not yet scheduled an appointment, must contact the Embassy at KingstonTransApp@state.gov to schedule an appointment. All other applicants who have not yet begun the scheduling and application process must use the following instructions:

Step 1: Complete the DS-160 application form online.

Step 2: Pay the visa application fee — which remains US$160 for a visitor visa — at National Commercial Bank or online at http://jamaica.usvisa-info.com.

Step 3: Choose the address where you would like to have your passport delivered via DHL, if your visa application is approved. DHL will no longer be on site at the embassy to make delivery arrangements for visas, so you will have to provide your address information when you schedule your appointment.

Step 4: Schedule your appointment by contacting our partner, CSC, by phone at -876-632-7400 or online at http://jamaica.usvisa-info.com. All appointments — including group appointments and emergency appointments — will be scheduled through this phone number and website. A PIN (Personal Identification Number) is no longer required to schedule an appointment by phone, but you will not be able to schedule an appointment until after you have paid the standard visa application fee, as described in Step 2.

Step 5: Attend your appointment at US Embassy Kingston. If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, you must contact our partner CSC by phone or online at least 24 hours before your appointment.

Immigrant Visa applicants

Immigrant visa applicants will continue to have their initial appointments at the Embassy scheduled by the National Visa Centre.

Before visiting the embassy for their first appointment, immigrant visa applicants should register on

CSC's website at http://jamaica.usvisa-info.com to receive free DHL services. Immigrant visa applicants who already had their first appointment at the Embassy before March 18 may now also register for DHL services through CSC's website.

All applicants who need to schedule a follow-up appointment should follow the instructions on the letter that they received at the Embassy.

The US Embassy Kingston recognises that these changes may be confusing for some applicants who began the visa application process prior to March 18 and whose applications have not yet been fully processed. Questions may be directed to KingstonTransApp@state.gov.

The Embassy staff in Kingston will answer questions you may have regarding the US Mission, including consular law, regulations and/or practice. In order to respect privacy, staff will not answer questions about specific visa applications. The embassy employs a visa appointment system, so it is only necessary for visa applicants to arrive 15 minutes before their scheduled appointment.

Send your questions to: editorial@jamaicaobserver.com and we will send them to the embassy.