The US Embassy will expedite visa applications of top Kenyan artistes seeking to tour the US for performances.
This is part of the US Embassy and American Chamber of Commerce Kenya (AMCHAM) initiative to unlock creative industry opportunities between the United States and Kenya.
“If you are going for a tour performance in the US, there are Visas for that. There are different types of visas, with the most common being those for tourism and business Visas. But we do have Visas for people who are stars in their particular fields, which is usually quite a small number. For high-profile performers who are brands with strong business ties, we don’t inhibit that, we always follow our laws and procedures in expediting those applications,” Marc Dillard, Charge d’Affaires of the US Embassy, told Daily Nation ahead of USA–Kenya economy forum set for June 5, 2025, in Nairobi.
United States Embassy in Kenya Chargé d’Affaires Marc Dillard(left), and Renowned music producer Polycarp Otieno alias Fancy Fingers, interacts during the United States-Kenya creative economy forum 2025, set to unlock creative industry opportunities between the United States and Kenya at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Westlands, Nairobi, on May 22, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation
In the recent past, there have been complaints among Kenyan creative performers seeking to export their talent to the US over visa application frustrations.
“There have been mentions of some specific cases that I can’t really speak about, but the key thing for a successful US visa application is having a plan for the visit that makes sense. For the Kenyan artistes making these Visa applications the key thing is to come with a business plan that shows prospect, the actual value of what you will be doing in the US, this is one of the issues that this forum is about, making those meaningful connections to open up the creative industries between our two countries.” Mr Dillard.
According to the US Embassy representative, lack of information has been the major undoing for those affected.
“Information is important. A lot of artistes always get caught up in the process of applications. When you are a high-level performer, there is a lot of processing needed if you are going on tour in the US and that’s probably the most complicated one, and that’s why having information is very important to have those applications expedited,” he said.
United States Embassy in Kenya Chargé d’Affaires Marc Dillard, renowned music producer Polycarp Otieno alias Fancy Fingers, Thomas Kwaka, popularly known as Big Ted, Margaret Nerea, a Basketball player and American Chamber of Commerce Kenya CEO Maxwell Okello during a panel discussion at the United States-Kenya creative economy forum 2025, set to unlock creative industry opportunities between the United States and Kenya at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Westlands, Nairobi, on May 22, 2025.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation
The forum, which will be a first, targets to bring industry leaders, investors, policy makers and creative innovators from the US and Kenya and will target three areas of the creative economy: film, music and sports.
Taken to task as to whether this would be yet another of the many creative forums to ever happen in Kenya that ended up being ‘a talk show’ with zero impact, Maxwell Okello, the Chief Executive Officer of the American Chamber of Commerce Kenya, out a defence.
“There have been forums like those, but we have to start somewhere, and it takes a few people who genuinely believe in the opportunity to then catalyse opportunity for the rest of the industry and that’s how exactly we are approaching this. How we are curating this is that we have a selected few high-profile Kenyan creatives from film, music and sports who will be our ambassadors and connect to the high-profile performers we are bringing from Hollywood and US creative industry at large to create those connections and then monitor how these partnerships develop. So, no, this won’t be a talk show,” Okello told Daily Nation .
The United States' creative economy generates $1 trillion (Sh130 trillion) annually, while in Kenya it generates Sh85.21 billion according to a report by the Creative Economy Business Environment forum.
