There seems to have been an informal requirement [1] to have $25 to pass through Ellis Island less they become a burden on the public system. Adjust for 1909 dollars, that's $700 today...or 0.02 BTC. "Many families sold everything they had".

Unfortunately, escaping regimes is expensive. Many Americans today would not be able to pay this fee.

[1] https://books.google.com/books?id=QjA_AwAAQBAJ&pg=PA77&lpg=P...