Immigrants becoming citizens at breakneck speed as election approaches: report
The federal government is processing U.S. citizenship applications at its fastest pace in decades, with thousands of immigrants becoming newly minted citizens every week, possibly helping sway the result of November’s election.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USIS) is taking an average of 4.9 months to process naturalization applications in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, a pace not seen since 2013 and 2014, according to a report from the New York Times.
The under five-month average processing time is a far cry from that pace set just three years ago, when it took roughly 11.5 months for authorities to process a naturalization application.
President Biden listens as new citizens take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony in the East Room of the White House on July 2, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Overall, 3.3 million immigrants have become naturalized citizens since President Biden took office, in part thanks to the administration shortening the naturalization application to 14 pages instead of the previous 20. The administration also raised the fee to apply in April to $710, up from the previous $640, but made it easier for low-income applicants to qualify for a discount.
Green card holders, known as lawful permanent residents, become eligible for American citizenship after five years of holding legal status. Others can become eligible quicker, such as those married to an American citizen for at least three years.
The newly minted American citizens will have rights not afforded to permanent residents, the New York Times report notes, including the right to vote in the upcoming election.
“The surge in naturalization efficiency isn’t just about clearing backlogs; it’s potentially reshaping the electorate, merely months before a pivotal election,” Xiao Wang, chief executive of Boundless, a company that offers services to immigrants seeking help with the naturalization process, told the New York Times. “Every citizenship application could be a vote that decides Senate seats or even the presidency.”
A video shows President Biden’s welcome message to new immigrants at a naturalization ceremony at Grand Teton National Park on Aug. 4, 2023, in Moose, Wyoming. (Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
While the report notes that it is unclear how many of the new citizens will be eligible to vote in critical swing states, it points out that all such states will have a growing number of newly minted U.S. citizens eligible to hit the ballot box. In one case, a ceremony in Georgia saw people from 19 countries pack into a federal courthouse to make their new citizenship official.
Currently, about nine million more permanent residents are eligible for naturalization, with the report noting that the largest share are Latinos, who have historically supported Democratic candidates.
Newly minted citizens have also historically expressed excitement about voting, with one U.S. Immigration Policy Center survey showing 81.4% of naturalized citizens indicated they “definitely” would vote in 2024 and another 14% said they “probably” would.
People take the oath of allegiance during a naturalization ceremony at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on July 2, 2024, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This is a wonderful country that we want to be fully a part of,” Nishang Patel, a 28-year-old dentist and native of Kenya who became a naturalized U.S. citizen, told the New York Times. “We will contribute and vote.”
Reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a USCIS spokesperson said that the agency has “implemented policy and operational improvements over the last few years to reduce both the number of pending cases and overall processing times the agency inherited from the prior administration.”
“USCIS personnel addressed processing issues and made changes to underlying procedures to achieve new efficiencies while ensuring the integrity and security of the immigration system, and the agency continues to explore all regulatory, policy and procedural options to improve processing times and decrease pending caseloads,” the spokesperson added. “USCIS remains committed to breaking down barriers in the immigration system, increasing access to eligible immigration benefits, restoring faith and trust with the immigrant community, and upholding America’s promise as a nation of welcome and possibility with fairness, integrity, and respect for all we serve.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
