Almost 1 million immigrants granted US citizenship in 2022 – By Erum Salam (The Guardian) / Jan 3, 2023
Number is highest in nearly 15 years after Covid pandemic caused a backlog in the system
Nearly 1 million immigrants became US citizens in 2022, the highest number in almost 15 years after the Covid-19 pandemic caused a backlog in the system.
According to new figures from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the countries where most of these new citizens came from were Cuba, the Philippines, India, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Citizenship interviews and ceremonies were suspended at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, which led to a backlog of applications that were only approved last year. According to the Pew Research Center, the backlog of pending naturalization applications stands at 673,000 as of the end of June 2022.
At the start of the pandemic, financial difficulties plagued the USCIS, which heavily relies on application fees, leading to a reduced workforce capacity and the closure of its field offices. There was a hiring freeze at the agency between May 2020 and April 2021 that led to a shortage of adjudicators who oversee the application process.
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