US Citizenship: Top five countries account for 32% of naturalizations

Many foreigners have a cherished dream of becoming a US permanent citizen. During the last decade, USCIS welcomed more than 7.7 million naturalized citizens. In 2023, USCIS welcomed 878,500 new citizens during naturalization ceremonies held across the United States.

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a lawful permanent resident after meeting the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Acquisition of citizenship is also obtained through U.S. citizenship parents either at birth or after birth, but before the age of 18.

To be eligible for naturalization, an applicant must fulfill certain eligibility requirements outlined in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The requirements generally include being a lawful permanent resident (LPR) for at least five years.

In general, a noncitizen must spend at least 5 years as a lawful permanent resident to be eligible for naturalization while a spouse of a U.S. citizen must spend at least 3 years as a lawful permanent resident.

The median years spent as a lawful permanent resident for all citizens naturalized in FY 2023 was 7 years.

Out of these top countries, applicants from Mexico and Canada spent the longest time, with 10.4 years, and applicants from Nigeria spent the shortest, with 5.6 years. For Indians as a lawful permanent resident, the wait time to be eligible for naturalization was 5.6 years on average.

The Dallas (4.1% of all naturalizations), Houston (4.1%), Chicago (3.7%), Newark (3.4%), and San Francisco (2.9%) field offices naturalized the largest number of new citizens in FY 2023.

Among the top five countries of birth for people naturalizing in FY 2023, Mexico was the lead country, with 12.7% of all naturalizations, followed by India (6.7%), the Philippines (5.1%), the Dominican Republic (4.0%), and Cuba (3.8%). The top five countries of birth comprised 32% of the naturalized citizens in FY 2023. The approved naturalizations for FY 2023 for Mexico and India was 111,500 and 59,100 respectively.

Of all citizens naturalized in FY 2023, 70% resided in 10 states (in descending order): California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Washington, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Virginia. More than 50% resided in the top four states. The top five cities where people who naturalized resided were: Brooklyn, Miami, Houston, the Bronx, and Los Angeles.