This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
Published on July 23, 2019, a US-based private equity company, Atlantic American Partners, has disclosed that at least 20 Kenyans are in the process of acquiring the US Employment-Based Visa, popularly known as the EB-5 Visa.
The company's Managing Director, Daniel Ryan, revealed that the group of Kenyans have submitted applications worth more than Sh1 billion, with three of them having already paid the full amount.
The EB-5 Visa is issued to applicants who invest at least Sh50 million in American businesses or a real estate project that can generate at least 10 permanent jobs.
Introduced by the late US President George H.W. Bush in 1990, the EB-5 Visa aims to stimulate the country's economy through job creation and capital investment by foreign investors.
According to Ryan, the applicants are primarily business owners who want to educate their children in the US. He emphasized that there are three requirements for obtaining the visa: passing an international background check, documenting the source of funds, and having no criminal background.
Atlantic American Partners is looking to sign up at least 25 Kenyan investors by the end of this year, with the US issuing 10,000 such visas annually.
