VISITING the United States is not an opportunity that everyone in the world gets. When someone is issued a US B1/B2 visa — otherwise known as a tourist or visitor’s visa — they are implicitly agreeing to use the visa responsibly.

This means they will not work on the visa — either in person or remotely — they will not stay past their “admit until date”, they will not intentionally travel to the United States with the intent to birth a child, and they will not commit a crime while in the United States, to name a few examples.

Although working is not allowed on a B1/B2 visa, an employee can attend work conferences, meetings, trade shows, etc, as long as they are not paid anything in addition to their normal salary.

If someone were to break the rules of their tourist visa, they could risk losing their visa or being deported.

Additionally, in Jamaica most adults who are approved for a US visa are issued a visa that is valid for 10 years. That does not mean that they can stay in the States for 10 years.

Their length of stay in the United States is determined by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer upon their arrival.

Most CBP officers grant visitors six months in the United States. However, even if granted six months, please be aware that a long stay in the United States could put your visa at risk.

A long stay in the United States could indicate to the officer that you are partaking in activities that are not allowed on a tourist visa — like working or having a child — since most people cannot take many months off work to simply vacation in another country. Keep that in mind when deciding the length of your next stay in the United States.

When your US B1/B2 visa is set to expire, you can renew it on the US Embassy website — as long as it is within one year of expiration and your previous visa was issued after the age of 18. When adjudicating that renewal, the officer may determine that you still qualify for a visa and issue the visa remotely. However, if upon review further information is needed, you may be called into the US Embassy for an additional interview.

Use your visa responsibly: Protect your future and help keep the door open for future Jamaican travellers by following US immigration laws.

You can find more information on our website, www.jm.usembassy.gov and the Department of State’s travel website
www.travel.state.gov. Keep on top of Embassy news on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/USEmbassyJamaica/ and by following @USEmbassyJA on
Twitter. We also answer general visa questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages.