A whopping 1 million immigrants became US citizens in 2022, which is the highest number in almost 15 years. The backlog that increased due to COVID-19 has finally been cleared, bringing in New Year cheer to many waiting for years.
According to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the countries where most of the new citizens come from include India, Cuba, the Philippines, Mexico, and the Dominic Republic. Citizenship interviews and ceremonies were suspended due to the pandemic, and due to Pew Research Centre, the backlog of applications stood at 6,73,000 at the end of June 2022.
The USCIS had staffing problems due to the pandemic, as they rely heavily on application fees. Also, there was a hiring freeze between May 2020 and April 2021, further adding to the pending applications. Now, USCIS, along with the Department of State, issued twice the number of employment-based immigrant visas in 2022, just like before the pandemic.
Despite this, laws like Title 42 and Remain in Mexico continue to haunt many immigrants who are liable to be deported to Mexico, and the US courts are doing their best to keep the laws in place.
