Question: What should I do if my passport containing my valid, US non-immigrant visa has been lost or stolen?

A. It can be frustrating to deal with replacing lost or damaged documents. If your passport containing a US visa is lost or stolen, please start by contacting your local police station and obtaining a police report for the lost passport and visa. You may then report the loss to our Consular Section Fraud Prevention Unit, via e-mail at KingstonFPU@state.gov.

Attach a lost or stolen visa reporting form, the police report, and a copy of your identification to your e-mail. You may download a PDF version of the form from our website or request a copy by e-mail at the above email address. The web address for the form is photos.state.gov/libraries/jamaica/231771/PDFs/FORM%20-%20LOST-STOLEN%20REPORT%202_0.pdf. Note that this e-mail address will not answer queries related to visa applications.

If you want to travel to the United States, you will have to apply for a new visa. If you do so, you should also present the completed lost or stolen visa reporting form and a police report at the time of your interview. Please note that you will have to obtain a new passport, complete a new visa application, pay the application fee, and schedule an appointment to obtain a new visa. Visit usvisa-info.com or our embassy 0website at www.jm.usembassy.gov for more information on how to apply.

Once you have reported your passport and visa lost or stolen they cannot be used to travel to the United States, so be sure to search for them first! Even if you subsequently recover your documents you will not be able to board a flight to the United States. This is true even if you have only reported the passport and not the visa, as the documents will be flagged. This is done for security purposes and to protect your identity.

Question: What if my passport is okay but the visa is damaged?

A. If your visa is damaged, you will need to apply for a new visa, following the steps articulated above. It is important to ensure the integrity of the document, and airlines may deny you boarding for even seemingly minor damage, such as a child scribbling on the page.

You can find more information on our website,