India second largest source of new citizens for USA, 65,960 became Americans in 2022, finds census data
- In Reports
- 07:56 PM, Apr 22, 2024
- Myind Staff
According to the most recent Congressional report, India has become the second-largest source of new citizens for the United States, with a total of 65,960 Indians obtaining US citizenship in 2022. Mexico is the only country ahead of India in terms of the origin of new citizens.
In 2022, about 46 million individuals born outside the United States were living in the country, making up roughly 14 percent of the total population of 333 million, according to information from the American Community Survey conducted by the US Census Bureau. Among these individuals, approximately 53 percent identified themselves as naturalised citizens, amounting to around 24.5 million people.
According to the most recent "US Naturalization Policy" report from the independent Congressional Research Service, dated April 15, in the fiscal year 2022, a total of 969,380 individuals acquired US citizenship through naturalisation. Mexico ranked first in the number of naturalisations, followed by India, the Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
According to the latest data, individuals of Mexican origin had the highest number of naturalisations, totaling 128,878, followed by India with 65,960, the Philippines with 53,413, Cuba with 46,913, the Dominican Republic with 34,525, Vietnam with 33,246, and China with 27,038.
As of 2023, India ranked second in the number of foreign-born American nationals, with 2,831,330 individuals, following Mexico with 10,638,429. China held the third position with 2,225,447 foreign-born American nationals.
The CRS report highlighted that 42 percent of India-born foreign nationals residing in the US are currently unable to apply for US citizenship. As of 2023, approximately 290,000 India-born individuals holding Green Cards or Legal Permanent Residency (LPR) status were potentially eligible for naturalisation. Concerns have been raised regarding processing delays for naturalisation applications by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in recent years.
Despite facing backlogs since fiscal year 2020, USCIS has made strides in reducing the number of pending naturalisation applications. By the conclusion of Fiscal Year 2023, the agency had around 408,000 pending naturalisation applications, a decrease from the 943,000 pending applications at the end of the fiscal year 2020.
To qualify for naturalization, applicants must satisfy specific criteria outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which includes being a lawful permanent resident (LPR) for a minimum of five years. The proportion of foreign-born individuals who obtain naturalised citizenship varies based on factors such as their country of origin, with some countries exhibiting higher rates than others.
Immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil have the lowest rates of naturalised foreign-born individuals, whereas those from Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, Jamaica, and Pakistan have the highest rates.
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