59,100 Indians obtained US citizenship in 2023, second after Mexico

As many as 59,000 Indians officially became US citizens in 2023, making India the second-largest source, after Mexico, for new citizens in America. However, the number of Indians who got US citizenship in 2023 was lesser than those who opted for it the previous year. In 2022, 65,960 Indians officially became US citizens. As per the annual US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) report, nearly 8.7 lakh foreign nationals attained US citizenship in the fiscal year 2023, ending on 30 September 2023. The cumulative number of people from different nations who opted for US citizenship in 2023 was around a lakh lesser than the previous year. As per the report, 111,500 Mexicans (12.7 per cent of the total citizens) obtained US citizenship in 2023. India occupied the second slot with 59,100 (6.7 per cent) people acquiring US citizenship. Slightly more than 5 per cent or 44,800 of the new Americans were Philippines-born. It was followed by the Dominican Republic from where 35,200 people or 4 per cent obtained US citizenship in 2023. Next came Cuba, whose 33,200 or 3.8 per cent of people got US citizenship last year. A total of 878,500 people of different nations obtained US citizenship in 2023 compared to 969,380 the previous year. According to the annual progress report-2023 released recently by USCIS, naturalisation (awarding of US citizenship) during the fiscal years 2022 and 2023 made up nearly a quarter of all naturalisations over the past decade. Though the comparative USCIS progress report of 2022 does not provide country-of-birth data of its new citizens, an annual flow report by the Department of Homeland Security (the umbrella agency) has all such information. Who can get US citizenship? If a person of a different country, staying in the US, holds a green card (being a lawful permanent resident) for at least five years, then he/she can apply for American citizenship. For any person who marries a US citizen, the period is reduced to three years. However, for Indians, the waiting time for a green card runs into several decades, which in turn derails the opportunity to opt for American citizenship. With inputs from agencies