Indian Immigration: Over 66,000 Indians Attain US Citizenship in 2022
Los Angeles/Apr 22, 2024
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/A.Gary Singh
India Ranks Second in US Citizenship Acquisition: Insights from Congressional Reports
In the latest update, it's revealed that 65,960 Indians officially became US citizens in 2022, solidifying India's position as the second-largest contributor of new citizens to the United States, after Mexico.
Data from the American Community Survey by the US Census Bureau indicates that in 2022, approximately 46 million foreign-born individuals resided in the United States, constituting around 14 percent of the total population of 333 million. Among them, about 24.5 million, or roughly 53 percent, reported themselves as naturalized citizens.
According to the Congressional Research Service's (CRS) recent "US Naturalization Policy" report, a total of 969,380 individuals acquired US citizenship through naturalization in the fiscal year 2022. Mexico led the naturalization statistics, followed by India, the Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
Further analysis by CRS revealed that in 2022, Mexican nationals topped the naturalization charts with 128,878 individuals, trailed closely by Indians with 65,960, followed by the Philippines (53,413), Cuba (46,913), the Dominican Republic (34,525), Vietnam (33,246), and China (27,038).
As of 2023, the United States was home to 2,831,330 foreign-born individuals from India, making them the second-largest group after Mexico, which had 10,638,429 foreign-born American nationals. Following Mexico and India, China ranked third with 2,225,447 foreign-born American nationals.
However, despite these substantial numbers, the CRS report highlighted that around 42 percent of India-born foreign nationals residing in the US are currently ineligible for US citizenship. Nonetheless, approximately 290,000 India-born foreign nationals holding Green Cards or Legal Permanent Residency (LPR) status were potentially eligible for naturalization as of 2023.
In recent years, concerns have arisen regarding processing delays for naturalization applications by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Nevertheless, the agency has made significant strides in reducing the backlog of pending naturalization applications since fiscal year 2020. By the end of FY2023, USCIS had approximately 408,000 pending naturalization applications, down from 550,000 in FY2022, 840,000 in FY2021, and 943,000 in FY2020.
In FY2023, a total of 823,702 LPRs submitted naturalization applications, although this number remains below the estimated population of 9 million LPRs eligible for naturalization in 2023. The percentage of naturalized foreign-born individuals varies depending on several factors, including country of origin.
Exploring the nuances of naturalization trends unveils a spectrum of outcomes. While immigrants from Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil show lower rates of naturalization, counterparts from Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, Jamaica, and Pakistan demonstrate higher percentages.
Eligibility for naturalization hinges on meeting precise criteria as outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Key among these is maintaining lawful permanent resident (LPR) status for at least 5 years.
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