The number of naturalizations plummeted in the United States during the recent pandemic. The normal three month average, pre-pandemic, was about 190,00 and that dropped to under 90,000 from April through June of 2020. Numbers began rebounding in 2021 and continue the upswing. Surprisingly though, the increase in naturalizations of Mexican immigrants has only increased by about 8% while surveys show that the number from other areas of the world, (sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa), have increased anywhere from 15-26%. The numbers from China have plummeted – dropping 20%.
Although the number of naturalizations is up, the number of backlogged applications sits at about 673,000. This is down from 1,000,000 in 2020 but continues to be a focus.
