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The federal authorities is processing U.S. citizenship functions at its quickest tempo in a long time, with hundreds of immigrants turning into newly minted residents each week, probably serving to sway the results of November’s election.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USIS) is taking a median of 4.9 months to course of naturalization functions within the first 9 months of the present fiscal 12 months, a tempo not seen since 2013 and 2014, based on a report from the New York Times.
The underneath five-month common processing time is a far cry from that tempo set simply three years in the past, when it took roughly 11.5 months for authorities to course of a naturalization software.
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President Biden listens as new residents take the oath of allegiance throughout a naturalization ceremony within the East Room of the White House on July 2, 2021. (Samuel Corum/Bloomberg through Getty Images)
Overall, 3.3 million immigrants have grow to be naturalized residents since President Biden took workplace, partly because of the administration shortening the naturalization software to 14 pages as a substitute of the earlier 20. The administration additionally raised the payment to use in April to $710, up from the earlier $640, however made it simpler for low-income candidates to qualify for a reduction.
Green card holders, often called lawful everlasting residents, grow to be eligible for American citizenship after 5 years of holding authorized standing. Others can grow to be eligible faster, similar to these married to an American citizen for not less than three years.
The newly minted American residents may have rights not afforded to everlasting residents, the New York Times report notes, together with the correct to vote within the upcoming election.
“The surge in naturalization efficiency isn’t just about clearing backlogs; it’s potentially reshaping the electorate, merely months before a pivotal election,” Xiao Wang, chief govt of Boundless, an organization that gives companies to immigrants looking for assist with the naturalization course of, informed the New York Times. “Every citizenship application could be a vote that decides Senate seats or even the presidency.”
A video reveals President Biden’s welcome message to new immigrants at a naturalization ceremony at Grand Teton National Park on Aug. 4, 2023, in Moose, Wyoming. (Natalie Behring/Getty Images)
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While the report notes that it’s unclear how lots of the new residents might be eligible to vote in important swing states, it factors out that each one such states may have a rising variety of newly minted U.S. residents eligible to hit the poll field. In one case, a ceremony in Georgia noticed folks from 19 international locations pack right into a federal courthouse to make their new citizenship official.
Currently, about 9 million extra everlasting residents are eligible for naturalization, with the report noting that the biggest share are Latinos, who’ve traditionally supported Democratic candidates.
Newly minted residents have additionally traditionally expressed pleasure about voting, with one U.S. Immigration Policy Center survey displaying 81.4% of naturalized residents indicated they “definitely” would vote in 2024 and one other 14% mentioned they “probably” would.
People take the oath of allegiance throughout a naturalization ceremony on the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library on July 2, 2024, in New York City. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
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“This is a wonderful country that we want to be fully a part of,” Nishang Patel, a 28-year-old dentist and native of Kenya who turned a naturalized U.S. citizen, informed the New York Times. “We will contribute and vote.”
Neither the White House nor USCIS instantly responded to Fox News Digital requests for remark.
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