- The two nations with the highest number of citizens granted US citizenship were Mexico and India.
- Of these, 53% stated that they were citizens by naturalization.
- China coming in third.
The two nations with the highest number of citizens granted US citizenship were Mexico and India, with 65,960 Indians becoming citizens. A projected 46 million people who were born outside of the US were residents in 2022, making up 14% of the overall population.
Of these, 24.5 million, or 53%, stated that they were citizens by naturalization. According to the Congressional Research Service, 969,380 people obtained US citizenship in the 2022 fiscal year.
Origin of New Citizens
After Mexico, the second-largest nation of origin for new citizens was India. India accounted for 2,831,330 foreign-born American citizens as of 2023, with China coming in third.
Still, 42% of foreign nationals who were born in India and are residing in the US are not eligible to apply for US citizenship at this time. A possible population of 290,000 foreign nationals with legal permanent residence (LPR) or Green Cards who were born in India could become naturalized as of 2023.
Since FY2020, there have been concerns about USCIS processing backlogs for naturalization applications; nonetheless, the agency has cut the number of applications that are pending completion in half. There were about 408,000 pending petitions for naturalization in the US as of FY2023, down from 550,000 at the end of FY2022, 840,000 at the end of FY2021, and 943,000 at the end of FY2020.
The nation of origin is one of several factors that affect the percentage of naturalized foreign-born people. The lowest percentages of naturalized foreign-born immigrants are from Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil, while the largest percentages are from Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, Jamaica, and Pakistan.
