Beri Mazariegos, US Citizen

Hi everyone, 

I am writing you to ask for help to make our good friend Beri Mazariegos a United States Citizen!

As I'm sure many of you know, Beri came to the United States with his family from Guatemala when he was just one year old. In 1991, Beri's parents were brave enough to come to America without knowing much English, without jobs, and without knowing anyone. They did this so that Beri and his sister could have better lives than they did. If you know Beri, you know that his parents' plan worked.

Thanks to his parents, Beri was able to grow up in the great city of Iowa City around a phenomenal group of friends and a great family. Although Beri is a legal permanent resident, he is not a US citizen. Beri has been able to enjoy rights and comforts that people who live in other countries in the world just don't have, however, there are many rights and comforts that Beri does not have access to because he is not a citizen. 

Gaining U.S. citizenship can provide many opportunities for a resident of the United States. Among these are access to a U.S. passport, the right to vote in public elections, and protection from deportation.

The reason that this fundraiser exists is because gaining US citizenship is expensive. I know that if Beri had the money and all of us behind him, he would move forward with obtaining his citizenship.

 It costs $680 to apply for citizenship in the United States. (http://immigrationimpact.com/2015/01/09/cost-citizenship-barrier-immigrants/) "The current filing fee for Form N-400, the Application for Naturalization, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, for adult applicants is $680 ($595 plus an $85 biometric fee)." I invite everyone to check my source and to do independent research on the cost of obtaining citizenship. 

Additionally, it is likely that Beri will need to sit down with an immigration attorney before filing his application to be sure that everything is in order. Immigration attorneys are expensive. While it is impossible to guess how much work that attorney will have to do, that is where the additional funding request of $520 comes from. I can assure you that every dollar you donate (outside of the 5% that gofundme.com takes) will go toward Beri's citizenship application and immigration attorney fees. 

I want this to be a surprise for Beri. So please do not make him aware of this fundraiser!!! His birthday isn't until April, so if it takes that long to raise the money, that's fine. We could make this his best birthday ever. If you know Beri, you know he deserves this. I know that he, his family, and all of his very close friends would be very thankful for any amount that anyone gives. 

I truly thank you for your time, and if you choose to donate, thank you so much for your donation. Hopefully we can raise the money and Beri can have his citizenship rights soon.

Nick