Over 170,000 Kenyans have immigrated to the United States where they live and work. This is according to data from the American think-tank Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
According to this data, as of 2022, there were 168,915 Kenyan immigrants in the US. This was a 9.6 per cent increase from the 154,062 Kenyan immigrants in US as of 2021.
This suggests that over the past eighteen months, the number may have grown to a range of between 170,000 and 175,000. The number of Kenyans moving to the US has been on a steady increase since the year 2010 when the number of Kenyan immigrants in the US stood at 88,519.
In 2011, this number had increased by the biggest margin thus far of 15.9 per cent to reach 102,561. This included Kenyans and their children including first and second generations.
At the time, the highest number of the Kenyan population in the US was in Texas and California. Amongst the US metropolitan areas, Dallas had the largest population of Kenyans.
The data from the MPI further showed that as of 2022, the United States was the most prominent destination for Kenyans seeking to file asylum. The data showed a record of over 7,500 Kenyans who had sought asylum in the States.
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In addition, as of 2022, the data from MPI further indicated that 5,014 Kenyans became legal permanent residents in the US, an increase from the 3,028 in 2021.
In the same vein, 6,090 Kenyans gained US citizenship by naturalization in 2022. This was an increase from the 4715 Kenyan who got US citizenship via naturalization in 2021.
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The number of Kenyans living and working legally in US has been on the rise as issuance of DV Lottery and work permits to the US increase.
According to data from the US Embassy in Nairobi for instance, in 2022, the visa category for Employment Third Preference also known as E3 was issued in high numbers.
This is the category that is filed by skilled and unskilled workers, and professionals. This visa was followed closely by the Green Card visas.