Can Foreign Countries Donate to U.S. Elections?
Reviewed:
No. Federal law bars any foreign national from giving money, or spending it, in connection with any federal, state or local election in the United States, directly or through someone else. It is also illegal for anyone to knowingly ask for, accept or receive that money. The law is 52 U.S.C. 30121, and the Federal Election Commission's rule is 11 CFR 110.20.
Who counts as a foreign national
- Foreign governments, foreign political parties and companies organized abroad.
- People who aren't U.S. citizens or nationals and don't hold a green card. Green-card holders (lawful permanent residents) can give, like citizens.
The ban covers contributions to candidates and parties, donations, independent spending such as super PAC ads, and electioneering communications. A foreign national also can't direct or take part in the decisions of a company, union or PAC about its election spending.
What about a foreign company's U.S. branch?
A foreign corporation can't have a political action committee. Its U.S. subsidiary can, if the subsidiary is a separate U.S. company, the foreign parent doesn't pay for the political activity, and the PAC's decisions are made by U.S. citizens or green-card holders (FEC guidance). That's why a donor profile can list a PAC whose parent company is foreign: the tie is real, but the money must come from Americans.
What foreigners can still do
In Bluman v. FEC (2011), a federal court upheld the ban, and the Supreme Court affirmed it in 2012. The court noted that foreign nationals can still speak out on issues; the ban stops them from giving to candidates and parties and from paying for ads that expressly support or oppose candidates (FEC). Unpaid volunteering is also allowed.
FARA: a different law
The Foreign Agents Registration Act doesn't ban anything by itself. It requires people working in the U.S. for a foreign government, party or company on political activity, public relations or lobbying to register with the Justice Department and disclose what they do and who pays them. Filings are public at efile.fara.gov (Justice Department). Campaign finance law is enforced by the FEC; FARA by the Justice Department.
Real cases
- Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman. Prosecutors said a Russian businessman wired $1 million for U.S. political donations; Parnas was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 20 months in 2022, and Fruman got a year and a day (Justice Department).
- Pras Michel. The musician was convicted in 2023 of charges including acting as an unregistered foreign agent, after prosecutors said a Malaysian financier's money went through straw donors to a 2012 presidential campaign; he was sentenced to 14 years in 2025 and said he would appeal (CBS News).
- A super PAC fined. A Chinese-owned company gave $1.3 million to a super PAC backing Jeb Bush in 2016; the FEC fined the company, its officers and the PAC $940,000 in all (FEC, MUR 7122).
The gaps people debate
- Ballot measures. In 2021 the FEC voted that the federal ban covers candidate elections, not ballot measures, leaving it to states; several states have their own bans (CNN, 2021).
- "Dark money." Nonprofits such as 501(c)(4) groups don't have to name their donors. Former FEC chair Ann Ravel told a Senate panel in 2022 that this could let foreign money in unseen; the ban still applies to those groups (testimony).
- Enforcement. The FEC needs four votes to act. It lost its quorum in April 2025, according to the Congressional Research Service; the Justice Department can still bring criminal cases.
See who funds the biggest groups, and any documented foreign ties, on campaign money.
Sources: 52 U.S.C. 30121; 11 CFR 110.20; Federal Election Commission; U.S. Department of Justice; CBS News; CNN; Congressional Research Service.
Questions and answers
Can green-card holders donate to political campaigns?
Yes. Lawful permanent residents are not foreign nationals under federal election law, so they can give like citizens.
Can foreign companies donate to super PACs?
No. The ban covers super PAC donations too. A foreign company's U.S. subsidiary may run its own PAC only if U.S. citizens or green-card holders make its decisions and the foreign parent doesn't pay for its political activity.
Does the foreign money ban apply to state and local elections?
Yes, the federal ban covers federal, state and local elections. In 2021 the FEC said it doesn't cover ballot measures, which some states ban on their own.
Can foreigners volunteer for a U.S. campaign?
Unpaid volunteering is allowed. A foreign national can't give money, goods or paid services, or take part in a campaign's or PAC's spending decisions.
What is FARA?
The Foreign Agents Registration Act requires people doing political, PR or lobbying work in the U.S. for a foreign government, party or company to register with the Justice Department and disclose it. Registrations are public at efile.fara.gov.
Is AIPAC a foreign agent?
It isn't registered under FARA. A FARA lawyer quoted by the Forward said AIPAC takes no Israeli government money and has no Israeli officials on its board; critics argue it should register, and petitions to make it do so have failed.
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