India becomes 2nd largest source for new citizens in US: CSR

NEW DELHI: Around 65,960 Indians have formally become US citizens, making India the second-largest source country for new citizens in America after Mexico, as per a recent Congressional report. The report also suggests that 42% of Indian-born nationals in US are currently ineligible to become US citizens.
Furthermore, an estimated 46 million foreign-born people lived in the United States in 2022, accounting for around 14% of the overall population of 333 million, according to American Community Survey data from the US Census bureau.
Of these, 24.5 million, or around 53%, claimed being naturalised citizens. In its most recent "US Naturalisation Policy" report, published on April 15, the independent Congressional Research Service reported that 9,69,380 people became US citizens in fiscal year 2022.
"Individuals born in Mexico represented the largest number of naturalisations, followed by persons from India, Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic," the report said.
CSR's recent data suggests that up to 1,28,878 Mexican nationals became citizens of the US in 2022, followed by Indians (65,960), the Philippines (53,413), Cuba (46,913), the Dominican Republic (34,525), Vietnam (33,246), and China (27.038).
In 2023, India had 2,831,330 foreign-born American nationals in 2023, second only to Mexico with 10,638,429, followed by China, which has 2,225,447 foreign-born American nationals.
As of 2023, up to 2,90,000 Indian-born foreign nationals with a green card or legal permanent residency (LPR) were possibly eligible for naturalisation.
By the end of FY2023, the USCIS had about 4,08,000 pending applications for naturalization, a decrease from 550,000 in FY2022, 8,40,000 in FY2021, and 9,43,000 in FY2020.
In FY2023, 8,23,702 lawful permanent residents (LPRs) applied for naturalization. However, this figure remains notably lower than the estimated 9 million LPRs eligible for naturalization in 2023.
Individuals from Honduras, Guatemala, Venezuela, Mexico, El Salvador, and Brazil have the lowest rates of naturalization, whereas those from Vietnam, the Philippines, Russia, Jamaica, and Pakistan have the highest.
To qualify for naturalization, applicants must meet specific eligibility criteria outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), typically including being an LPR for at least five years.