Washington — Nearly one million adult immigrants naturalized as Americans in fiscal year 2022, the third-highest annual count recorded in U. S. history. According to a report from U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U. S. Citizenship and Immigration ServicesUSCIS received via CBS News.
In the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 967,400 adults took the oath of allegiance at naturalization ceremonies across the country, according to USCIS figures. Taking into account the cases of young people who received citizenship from their U. S. citizen parents and other naturalization cases, a total of 1,023,200 immigrant U. S. citizens in fiscal year 2022.
The number of adult immigrants who have become U. S. citizens only increased in 1996 and 2008, when 1,040,991 and 1,046,539 adults were naturalized, respectively, according to old government statistics.
Most naturalized citizens discharge citizenship after living in the United States as permanent citizens for 3 or five years, depending on how they downloaded legal residency. Those serving in the military may qualify for a special, expedited naturalization process. Applicants must also happen to be able to read, write and speak English and perceive American history and the formula of government.
Unlike permanent residents, immigrants with U. S. citizenship can vote in federal elections, download U. S. passports, and sponsor family circle members to come to the U. S. Becoming naturalized U. S. citizens in fiscal year 2022 were Mexico, India, the Philippines, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
The record 14-year naturalization comes a year after President Biden directed federal agencies to announce naturalizations removing bureaucratic hurdles in the citizenship process, speeding up the trade solution and laying out a government-wide strategy to inspire eligible immigrants to citizens.
Citing that directive, USCIS removed a review of Trump’s handling of civic naturalization issues that critics say made immigrants pass the test, which is a requirement for applicants for maximum citizenship. The firm has also expanded remote video interviews for naturalization cases.
In an interview with CBS News, USCIS Director Ur Jadou said the company has introduced campaigns and public awareness to make the naturalization procedure more available and simplified citizenship instances for U. S. service members. U. S. In March 2021, USCIS held the first remote video naturalization ceremony of the military.
“It’s smart for the country that other people are completely part of this country, enroll it in the best possible way,” Jaddou said this week. “This has been a precedent since the beginning of this administration and we will continue to focus on making sure that other people who want to be Americans can be Americans. “
Jaddou said the crusade to encourage naturalizations among eligible immigrants will have to be balanced with a significant workload at USCIS, adding to an ongoing effort to slow a large backlog of unresolved programs that has crippled the agency’s ability to temporarily process many petitions.
As of June 30, USCIS oversaw more than 8. 7 million immigration cases, ranging from green card programs to asylum programs and paint permit programs, according to government statistics. The backlog of citizenship cases 666,473, down 20% from the end of fiscal year 2021.
In its fiscal year 2022 progress report, USCIS noted that it had processed a record 275,111 work-based green cards across the State Department, which reviews visa applications. It also implemented a rule to relieve immigrants affected by permit delays by extending the automatic extension. It was for paint authorizations for those requesting renewal.
Beyond the backlog of cases, USCIS has also recently struggled to shore up its finances. The most commonly charged company faced a currency drop early in the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in a transitory but abrupt drop in programs and the suspension of in-person interviews and other services. While USCIS was able to avoid mass layoffs, it implemented a hiring freeze that was only removed in March 2021.
Jaddou asserted that Trump administration policy and spending decisions also contributed to the budget crisis, saying that USCIS was in a “precarious moment” at the start of the Biden administration, with less than $200 million in its coffers, some workers leaving the company and contracts. with the staff were fired.
Thanks to the millions of dollars appropriated through Congress over the past year, Jaddou said USCIS has been able to stabilize the agency’s monetary situation, stage a hiring spree for immigration arbitrators and reduce backlogs in some programs.
“The news is that we have recovered from this experience. Our monetary position is much stronger,” Jaddou said.
But Jaddou said USCIS will want additional investment from Congress to grow the agency’s multibillion-dollar caseload and manage a growing number of humanitarian programs, some of which don’t charge application fees.
Over the past year, USCIS has been tasked with processing the petitions of the tens of thousands of Afghans and Ukrainians who have been resettled in the United States. The agency’s other humanitarian missions involve screening some asylum seekers along the U. S. -Mexico border and reviewing programs. of immigrants seeking Temporary Protected Status programs, which have been expanded under M. Biden.
In fiscal year 2023, USCIS is expected to consider a rule to increase application fees for certain programs, allow more immigrants to pay additional fees to have their files reviewed faster, and make more programs online, rather than paper and mail. — in the model the firm has relied on for decades, according to Jaddou and Wednesday’s report.