The federal government is approving U.S. citizenship requests at the quickest rate in a decade, dispensing with a backlog attributed to the coronavirus pandemic and a tighter approval regime that reached its zenith under former President Donald Trump, a report Tuesday sets out.
Naturalization ceremonies typically spike ahead of a an election, the New York Times report makes clear, before detailing the rise in approval numbers for citizenship that also confers with it full voting rights.
Immigration analyst Xiao Wang, chief executive of Boundless, a company that reportedly uses government data to analyze immigration trends while offering services to immigrants who seek professional help in navigating the application process, told the outlet the rush comes with commensurate outcomes:
The surge in naturalization efficiency isn’t just about clearing backlogs; it’s potentially reshaping the electorate, merely months before a pivotal election.
Every citizenship application could be a vote that decides Senate seats or even the presidency.
The NY Times report goes on to set out at under five months, application processing speed is now on a par with 2013 and 2014. About 3.3 million immigrants have become citizens during President Joe Biden’s time in office, with less than two months to go before the close of the 2024 fiscal year.
The change in speed can also be traced back to the last change in occupant for the White House.
After taking office in 2021, Biden issued an executive order that sought to reverse former President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration agenda and “restore faith” in the legal immigration system, the NY Times report outlines.
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Among other steps, the order called for action to “substantially reduce current naturalization processing times.”
The Biden administration also shortened the naturalization application to 14 pages from 20. It raised the application fee in April to $710 from $640, but made it easier for low-income people to qualify for a discount.
Read the full New York Times report here