Q: My old passport has already expired. My visa to travel to the United States is still valid but is still in my expired passport. Do I need to apply for a new visa with my new passport?

A: No. If your visa is still valid you can travel to the United States with your two passports as long as the visa is valid, not damaged, and is the appropriate type of visa required for your principal purpose of travel, (for example: tourist visa, when your principal purpose of travel is tourism). Both passports (the valid and the expired one with the visa) should be from the same country and type (for example: both Jamaican regular passports, both official passports, etc).

When you arrive at the US port of entry (generally an airport or land border), the Customs and Border Protection Immigration officer will check your visa in the old passport and if s/he decides to admit you into the United States they will stamp your new passport, with an admission stamp along with the annotation “VIOPP” (visa in other passport). Do not try to remove the visa from your old passport and stick it into the new valid passport. If you do so, your visa will no longer be valid.

Q: My visa will expire while I am in the United States. Is there a problem with that?

A: No. If the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection immigration officer at the port of entry admitted you into the United States for a specific period of time, s/he will note your authorised period of stay on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94, called an Arrival/Departure Record. You will be able to remain in the United States during your authorised period of stay, even if your visa expires during the time you are in the United States. Since your admission stamp or paper Form I-94 documents your authorised stay and is the official record of your permission to be in the United States, it is very important to keep inside your passport.

Q: How can I find out how long I am authorised to stay in the United States?

A: A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States, but allows a foreign citizen coming from abroad to travel to the United States port of entry and request permission to enter the United States. The Department of Homeland Security — US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authority to permit or deny admission to the United States, and determine how long a traveller may stay. At the port of entry, upon granting entry to the United States, the US Department of Homeland Security, US immigration inspector, provides you an admission stamp or paper Form I-94 in your passport. If your I-94 contains a specific date, then that is the date by which you must leave the United States. Your admission stamp or paper Form I-94 is very important to keep in your passport, since it shows your permission to be in the United States. Review information about admission on the CBP website. Also, see “Duration of Stay”.

Q: I changed my name. Is my US visa with my old name still valid?

A: If your name has legally changed through marriage, divorce, or a court-ordered name change, you will need to obtain a new passport. Once you have a new passport, the Department of State recommends that you apply for a new US visa to make it easier for you to travel to and from the United States.

Q: I have a nonimmigrant visa that will expire soon and I would like to renew it. Do I need go through the whole visa application process again?

A: Yes, you will have to go through the whole visa application process each time you want to apply for a visa, even if your visa is still valid. There are some situations where a visa applicant may not need to be interviewed when renewing his/her visa. See the US Embassy or consulate website for more information.

For more information about visas, please visit our website jm.usembassy.gov/ and the website of our authorised service provider at www.usvisa-info.com Keep on top of embassy news on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/US-Embassy-Jamaica and by following @USEmbassyJA on Twitter . We also answer general visa questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

For safety and security reasons, the US Embassy asks that all individuals arrive at the embassy no more than 15 minutes before their designated appointment time.