Kenyan writer releases book on how to emigrate and settle down in US

A Kenyan immigrant has written a book to help people from around the world who desire to migrate to the United States of America.

Navigating The United States of America: A Handbook for New Immigrants was released in the first week of March by Amazon in an E-Book version.

The paperback is due to follow any time, according to the author, Betty Olela, a Kenyan who migrated to the land of opportunity six years ago.

Ms Olela, a former high school teacher in Kisumu, tackles the labyrinthine immigration process that is a nightmare to new applicants wishing to travel to America, right from the appointment for the visa, the interview and eventually settling in the US.

There is also the unsettling aftershock of changing the environment and adapting to a new different life complete with the culture shock and other realities that most immigrants are often not properly prepared for.

“However, with the right information and proper preparation, the transition can be made seamlessly smooth,” Ms Olela said during the official launch on March 8 from her new home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The book will be launched in Kisumu, Kenya, late this month.

“The initial days of relocating can be quite unsettling. There are the financial aspects and social issues to deal with. Finding a host is the most important part of this process,” she says. “Then new immigrants need a source of income to enable them navigate life in this country. You won’t find your kind of work, which fits your profession.

But get something to do to enable you pay your bills,” she writes. Indeed, America can be cruel for one without an income. What award winning author Rick Warren describes as “no loaves for loafers” rings true for people without some work that could earn them some dollars to pay for their bills.

“Be confident of yourself and don’t listen to people who feed you with negativity. Don’t be misled by people who will make you doubt yourself. This country offers a lot for everybody so long as you know what you want and you remain on the right side of law,” she said during the launch that was live on Facebook.

Amazon marketing team has translated the synopsis in different languages to reach its global market. She advises immigrants not to be ashamed of their accents, adding that Kenyans especially are intimidated by accents and would want to start pronouncing words like Americans do within a short stay here.

“Many immigrants find life here different from their original homes especially on matters to do with the law. Things that we take for granted in Kenya are treated seriously here and can end up making an immigrant, at best cited, and at worst, deported.

Once one is cited, getting a job here can be one hell of a task,” she warns.

“Whether it is a traffic offence, a felony, assault, fraud, faking a document, these are serious issues here which any immigrant does not want to be accused of. Stay clear of any situation which will make you encounter with law enforcement,” she writes.

On the small matters of the heart, she warns that immigrants had better be very careful.

“While dating is important for single people, immigrants must be extra cautious who they want to date. Many people in this country are licensed gun holders and any drama involving a love affair can easily lead to a person, whether aggrieved or not, drawing a gun, and the consequences are well known,” she warns.

“Immigrants must avoid being victims of such drama as much as avoiding being culprits,” she says.

The book is a veritable mustread for new immigrants who wish to navigate life in the competitive and complicated multi-racial country like the United States. It urges immigrants to find company with whom to socialise, because everybody from around the world is here. To remain healthy, she urges, one needs to exercise the body, the soul and the brain.

“You could go back to school to fit in America,” she says.