united-states immigration
Does money make it easier to become a naturalized US citizen?
<p>I'm family friends with some undocumented immigrants, one of whom is a DACA recipient. With everything the Trump administration and Republicans have been doing it's made me pretty angry and honestly pretty fearful for my friends. I'm sure that the DACA recipient has been waiting patiently for Congress to offer a natural path to citizenship, but who knows how long that will really take.</p>

<p>From my perspective, as a friend and US citizen, I'm wondering if there are any ways I can help move along the process on this individual's behalf. This family does not have a lot of money, but I do have some disposable income, and I would be willing to pay any fees (up to a certain amount). But I don't know if that willingness really makes a difference, or if there are inherent limitations to the system that no amount of money can solve.</p>

<p>If I wanted to "sponsor" my friend in a monetary sense, would it make a difference? Are there any risks? And how would I even start down that path... of helping this person initiate / complete the naturalization process?</p>

<p>Whether or not you are a DACA recipient, if you are in the US illegally, the path to citizenship is very narrow, and money will be of little use. It could be used to pay for an attorney who could represent a person that was already qualified, but cannot create qualification. A person might petition for "cancellation of removal" if they have lived in the US continuously for at least 10 years, are of "good moral character", have not been convicted of a crime and show that removal would result in "exceptional and extremely unusual hardship" to the alien's spouse, parent, or child who is U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident". However, there are caps on the number of such cancellations that can be issued (4,000 annually). Also, you don't "apply" for non-LPR cancellation, you petition for it as a defense when you are being deported.</p>

<p>If a person is <em>not</em> illegally present, money could help in obtaining an <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/eb-5" rel="nofollow noreferrer">EB-5 visa</a>, where a person invests in a job-creating enterprise that hires at least 10 people, investing a minimum of $500,000 for "targeted" areas or $1M otherwise. </p>
