US-based private equity firm, Atlantic American Partners, is set to receive applications worth Ksh1 billion from Kenyans wishing to migrate to the US.
The firm’s Managing Director, Daniel Ryan, issued a statement indicating that the 20 Kenyans had begun the process of obtaining the Employment-Based Visa (EB-5 Visa), which is issued to applicants who invest at least Ksh50 million in American businesses or real estate.
Ryan divulged that most of the applicants seeking to migrate are mostly Kenyan business owners, who want to educate their children in the United States.
Three of the applicants have already paid the full amount.
“There are three requirements for those wishing to get the visa. One, you must pass the international background check. Two, that you have documented source of funds that you legally have five hundred dollars to invest and three, that you have no criminal background,” Ryan listed.
Investors in the EB-5 visa can invest in either a US business or a real estate project that can generate at least 10 permanent jobs.
Ryan showed that the firm was targeting to sign up at least 25 Kenyan investors by the end of the year.
The EB-5 visa was created in 1990 under the administration of the late US President, George H.W. Bush, to stimulate the country’s economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.
The US issues 10,000 such visas every year.
