This is an automatically generated report on immigration from Jamaica to the United States of America using data from the US State Department and the US Department of Homeland Security.
For Fiscal Year 2021 there were 37,179 nonimmigrant visas issued for Jamaica, compared to a global average of 13,960 nonimmigrant visas issued per country. This represents a 32% change from the previous fiscal year.
| Visa | FY 2021 | FY2020 | % Change | FY2016 | 2021-2016 % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business visitor or tourist (B1/B2) | 15,225 | 15,045 | 1.2% | 94,458 | -83.9% |
| Temporary worker performing other services or labor of a temporary or seasonal nature (H2B) | 8,950 | 5,504 | 62.6% | 9,570 | -6.5% |
| Temporary agricultural worker (H2A) | 4,872 | 4,659 | 4.6% | 4,295 | 13.4% |
| Exchange Visitor (J1) | 4,859 | 691 | 603.2% | 7,115 | -31.7% |
| Student (F1) | 907 | 514 | 76.5% | 1,166 | -22.2% |
| Transiting the United States (C1/D) | 672 | 438 | 53.4% | 1,104 | -39.1% |
| Exchange Visitor (J2) | 493 | 141 | 249.6% | 272 | 81.2% |
| Fiancé(e) to marry U.S. Citizen & live in U.S. (K1) | 287 | 171 | 67.8% | 517 | -44.5% |
| Diplomat or foreign government official (A2) | 134 | 135 | -0.7% | 198 | -32.3% |
| Transiting the United States (C3) | 125 | 69 | 81.2% | 189 | -33.9% |
From 2022-07-01 to 2021-08-01 there were 8,587 immigrant visas issued for Jamaica compared to a global average of 2,409 immigrant visas per country over the same time period.
| Visa | Total Visas Issued |
|---|---|
| Unmarried children of IR1 Visa Holders (IR2) | 1,747 |
| Parents of US Citizen (IR5) | 1,553 |
| Unmarried sons and daughters of US Citizens and their children (F1) | 1,356 |
| Family of Lawful Permanent Resident (FX) | 1,056 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (IR1) | 1,035 |
| Professionals and Other Workers (E3) | 512 |
| Siblings of US citizens and/or their children and spouses (F4) | 371 |
| Married children of US citizens and their spouses and their children (F3) | 340 |
| Certain Family Members of Lawful Permanent Residents (F2B) | 330 |
| Spouse of a U.S. Citizen (CR1) | 82 |
For Fiscal Year 2020, 12,826 people from Jamaica were granted permanent residence in the US, also known as a “green card”.
| Admission Class | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| Immediate relatives of U.S. citizens | 9,831 |
| Family-sponsored preferences | 2,279 |
| Employment-based preferences | 668 |
| Other | 37 |
| Refugees and asylees | 11 |
| Diversity | 0 |
| US State | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| New York | 4,000 |
| Florida | 3,277 |
| Georgia | 799 |
| New Jersey | 688 |
| Connecticut | 636 |
| Pennsylvania | 432 |
| Maryland | 423 |
| Massachusetts | 408 |
| Texas | 281 |
| North Carolina | 215 |
| Metro Area | Total New Residencies Granted |
|---|---|
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA | 4,235 |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL | 2,018 |
| Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Alpharetta, GA | 626 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 413 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 370 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 330 |
| Hartford-East Hartford-Middletown, CT | 324 |
| Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT | 212 |
| Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 153 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 151 |
Moving on the refugees and asylees (asylum seekers), in FY 2020 there were new refugee arrivals and 44 new asylees. The primary difference between refugees and asylees is that refugees are not currently in the US while asylees are either already in the US or at a point of entry. Among asylees, 40 were affirmative asylees, who had proactively applied for asylum, and 4 were defensive asylees, meaning they are currently in removal proceedings in an immigration court.
Sometimes immigrants, legal or otherwise, must be removed from their host country. In FY 2020, 1,506 people from Jamaica were determined inadmissible, meaning they were not approved to enter the US. A further 820 were apprehended within the US on suspicion of being there illegally, of which 70 were removed for non-criminal charges and 1166 were removed on criminal charges, with the remainder either released on still awaiting a final decision.