Can i drive in the USA with a Jamaican drivers license?

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Quentin

cops have to read it in ENGLISH

Luis B

Yes, if you are here visiting. if you are here permanently then you will need to get a dl

msJ

milwifeandmom

No you cannot.

Right on

Sure you can drive in the U.S. with a valid Jamaican drivers license as long as you have auto Insurance issued in the United states or if you rent a car sign up for their Insurance.

Best of luck as you tour America.

wild_orchid_1988

No.

monie99701

Dont see why not... as long as you understand the road signs... just remember we go by MPH not Klm , and we drive on the right side of the road.... now if you moving to USA you have so many days to get a local license but that you will have to discuss with the Division of Motor Vehicles in the state to which you are moving... good luck

Rock_N_Roll_Chicky

yes, but if you get a driving job you need to transfer it

darkdiva

Temporarily--that is if you are here on vacation. If you are a resident, you must follow the state's guideline in which you are living. Every state has different laws as to when you must take their test and get your license changed. Check with the local DMV.

Noooooo don't even think about that! Ur not welcome to usa without a greencard if ur from jamaca!

Ch'Ã©'Ã©tiin

NOPE!!! BIG NOPE!!! You have to do a clearance. First, take the written test; then, if you pass it, you can take driving test. Then you get the license.

Andy

It depends entirely on your status. As a tourist or visitor for business you can certainly drive (and rent a car) with your home license.

If you become resident (legally or otherwise) in any state, then from your first arrival you can drive with a foreign or out of state license for a limited period which may be as short as 10 days (in California, that rule applies if you take a job:
http://tinyurl.com/54enp ). If you are a tourist or retired, etc. you can drive with such a license much longer, in Calif. as long as it's valid.

As the rules differ by state, you may want to Google <DMV + [name of state]>

If you have an A or G visa, then you get a US diplomatic license from the State Dept. Office of Protocol for free, good as long as your status as a foreign government official. But if you had one of those your sponsor would be taking care of it and you wouldn't be asking us.

If you have any kind of visa that allows you to work or study, you get a license from the state where you live or study good as long as your status is. (Florida, and perhaps other states, have special licenses good only in that state for part-year residents. It is mostly Americans from other states and Canadian snowbirds who qualify for those.)

As the Univ. of Illinois Web page linked below (3rd item) notes, state driving license offices act inconsistently and often do not understand immigration law and rules. It is easier to get a US license in some states than in others. (Easiest of all may be to get a Canadian license which would be honored in all states except the one in which you are habitually resident, but that's another story, and one that nobody talks about.)

The FirstGov Web site purports to give authoritative information about driving in the USA with a foreign license. I have to say that to my knowledge it has inaccuracies. It says you need an international driving permit. That is certainly not true if the foreign license is in English and if it is, on its face, tamper-resistent. My daughter rents cars and drives in the USA with a UK license, and her boyfriend rents and drives with a French license (which I believe has data in multiple EU languages). I have rented cars and driven with a Quebec license (in French).

Thus, subject to what I've said and the info available at the links below, my answer is this: so long as you are a tourist or other nonresident you can drive in the US with a Jamaican license. But if you become a resident and/or you are an illegal immigrant you not only cannot legally drive (at least in the state in which you are resident) but any insurance policy covering the car you are driving may not be valid for you (because you are unlicensed).

It is likely that any police officer or official authority to which you offer your driver license will ask to see your passport and visa as well, and any USCIS documentation that goes with it. Thus if you are driving illegally that fact may come to light. Not every police officer or DMV employee knows everything, or even anything, about immigration law. So you should expect confusion unless your status is obvious.

Good luck.

nana4dakids

I was a manager at Alamo Rent a Car for 5 years. I worked in Florida and I can tell you from experience that as long as you have a valid license from any where in the world, you car rent and drive a car at least in Florida.

Some of our customers didn't even speak English and we had to print out their contracts in their language, but they could rent a car.

Note: No you do not have to have insurance from the United States.

mojomuppet

i would get an international drivers license.call a car rental place and ask them.

Rava K...salsa khalsa

nope

volllballgirl

dont think so but i have to say that i luv jamaican accents

leadfoot126

You can drive with no license at all, it's the getting stopped part that is the problem. No, it's not legal to use another country's license to drive in the USA.

brownsuga

i'm not sure. I would think so as long as you're not living here for good.

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