It’s that time of the year: The US 2008 diversity visa program is on, and applications are to be submitted online by Sunday, December 3. Once again it is important to inform people that the application process is free. Kenyans are still eligible to win green cards to the USA, though early this year some green cards lottery winners were arrested at the Nairobi Embassy for adding on relatives.
Related
– Kenyans pay 270 million shillings in visa fees a year to the UK and US embassies while Nigerians pay 1.4 billion shillings a year to the UK in visa fees.
Other
Sudan’s economy, fuelled by oil exports and trade with Arab and Asian counties, is booming – projected to grow by 12 % this year despite a US embargo.
So, ever wondered where the money the UK and the US governments give us comes from???
Banks, I came to the conclusion that struggling to get a VIsa or a green for States is not worth it especially if you earn a net pay of more that 700USD in Kenya.
Agreed with Msanii’s observation. If you are making it good in Kenya, there is no need to try and come to the US. Just not worth it.
does it mean that kenyans in US earn only $700 net a month?
@Odegle: No it doesnt mean that they only make $700.It means that you can make $2000 net but your cost of living will be $2500. Oh and you won’t be able to afford a mboch.
@Bankelele: Love the S-class too
Have a question to those who use Francis Drummond as their broker. Have you been able to make orders online or even access your online account of late? For the past couple of weeks I have had problems getting through.
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pesa
If you are making $2000 and your cost of living is $2500, then you will have problems making ends meet regardless of where you are. If you are a professional with probably an advanced degree =>masters (if you are a Kenyan who went through 844, you have no reason not to have one) you should be making at least 80K and you should be living confortably. I think the cost of living complaint about life in America is not valid in all cases. If one is in America making at least 2000K and you cannot save at least half of that a month, you have major screwed up priorities like that luxury car with rims and wheels that cost as much as a small house in Kenya. Quit trying to keep up with tyrone and shaniqua. You will never look good in grillz and get yourself better pals.
I was shocked by Banks analysis of the cost of his trip to shags btw. Really expensive.
btw, as the availability of jobs in Kenya increases and there are less people willing to work as a mboch for less (i.e more manufacturing, africultural jobs),getting a mboch in Kenya will be spoken about nostalgically. I go home and find people having mboches and can’t figure out why. I have never felt the need. Except when I come back home of course and those chapos better be hitting the table frequently 🙂
hey guys can we put a valuation on safaricom here?
im kind of curious about certain things for example safaricom has a turnover of about 30 billion and has operating profit of about 12 billion
assets as of last year were about 30 billion im assuming they are op to about 40billion. . anyway any financial analysts here looks like there ROA. and turnover to profit ratio is pretty high too.
basically looking at those figures comparing to the same ratios and assets values of cpompanies in NSE,LSE and NYSE can we come up with
a valuation here (think we can)?
my personal observation is that safaricom is the biggest bank and also biggest cell phone company in kenya. why bank. i think those (prepaid)scratch cards can be looked at as a means of savings mobilisation tool – safaricom is basically a bank of cellphone service users. look at i this way the 5 million safaricom users are 5 million accounts that have a ksh50 balance.
Safaricom record breaking profits certainly highlighted how expensive cellphone calls are in kenya.more expensive than even states! think about it Kenya’s GDP-per capita=$1,100. U.S GDP-per capita=$41,800.(CIA-The world factbook)I know of the communications disparity between the two countries, but those cellphone rates are still too high.
The point is, safaricom needs serious competition in order to reduce costs and improve services.
The US govt aside, what about htose cybers charging guys to take digital photos and help with the applications they are also making their fair share of the cake.
Ig-know-rant: backward remittance
Msanii: The dream is still alive for many who believe that life in the US is better/easier.
egm: 700USD is quite good in Kenya
Odegle: They all earn more than that unless they are making minimum wage or less
pesa tu: Mboch lazma!
have only sen one new S so far (VP’s car)
falconsgladiator: a client’s FD account has not been updated since April, but she has lost interest since they never answer e-mail
chumviKiasi; I disagree on three points (i) there are many kenyas with advanced degrees, who are nowehere close to 80K (ii) many Kenyans find it hard to save/live within their means in the US (iii) there are still as many people looking for mboch jobs as ever
IP: Maybe once we get more data from the company. They invest quite heavily in network expansion. The money transfer thing is something i hope they will take to another level (http://bankelele.blogspot.com/2005/09/money-transfer-within-kenya.html)
Kudrinketh: Agreed
gishungwa: Cybers should only charge for the digital photo i.e if you can’t do it yourself (using the details are on the website)
Green Card:
The folks at mwalimu.com actually do make applications for guys for free and offer immigration advice.
How much is enough: If you want to know what your Kenyan pay would be(considering cost of living etc), see this table that the UK Home office uses in calculating HSMP points
Is it worth Going?: If you leave a “good” job in Kenya, you are generally making a big mistake! If you have nothing to lose in leaving kenya, or somehow nothing seems to be working out for you, or you have a bright idea that is only workable in the US, then trying US or elsewhere is OK
Hidden Cost: There is a great cost that Kenya and other africa countries suffer in taking part in these programs (we all know this,of course) which essentially builds the US/UK/CA/AU economies. See this article.
@Bankelele: Yep, seen the Vp’s S class.Met a salesman for DT Dobie and he was bragging that the new S500 is the most expensive car(more than the RR) in Kenya at Approx Sh 18,500,000(Quotation in Euros only)
@chumviKiasi: there are plenty of jobs for African professionals with (definitely) an advanced degree. Come to New York City and I’ll introduce you to some of them: ladies with Masters degrees who are babysitters for middle-/upper-class (can I say this?) White families; taxi drivers who are PhDs and even MDs in their home countries; professionals with years of experience running bodegas (umm, sort of “First-World” dukas).
And those are the good jobs.
Do not doubt warnings about selling all your worldly possessions in order to get a green card. The grass is not greener here – especially for Africans.
im not sure who u interact with in the US but i think the entry level for kenyans in the US keeps rising ther was a time when u cane to the US and expected to work in fast food thats is no longer the case most kenyans i know start of in semi-professional and quickly move up into professional positions. i think the avergafge kenyan here clocks atleast 45k moving up atleast thats what i know about calif – i dont about kansas and thsoe other places
Entry-level requirements are irrelevant once you emigrate to a country – if no one’s hiring, your stuffed. Doesn’t matter if you’re the best neuro-surgeon, contracts lawyer or :gasp: software developer in your home country – if you can’t swag a job in your career. That’s the point of my post.
I don’t know anything about Oakland but I do know that you’ll not find many or most Kenyans in good paying jobs – in New York City. A place where the unemployment rate for black American men is 50%.
And with the current, growing anti-immigrant sentiments (in this and other western countries), it cannot be better in other areas of the US.
Wish someone would do a comprehensive survey on the status of greencard immigrants 5 years after immigrating.
Kenya: The Long And Tortuous Road to U.S Or British Visa
http://myafrica.wordpress.com/2006/09/30/kenya-the-long-and-tortuous-road-to-us-or-british-visa/#more-202