The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomed more than 6,600 new citizens in more than 140 naturalisation ceremonies between July 1 and July 8, according to a press release by USCIS.
In the 2021 fiscal year, 8,55,000 new citizens were naturalised and in 2022, about 6,61,500 new citizens have been naturalised as of 15 June.
The agency attributes this rise in numbers a sign of progress in reducing their naturalisation pending queues.
According to the US Homeland Security, 34 percent of the new citizens in the first quarter of 2022 were from the following nationalities: Mexico (24,508); India (12,928); the Philippines (11,316); Cuba (10,689), and the Dominican Republic (7,046).
During this time, the United States admitted 1,97,148 new citizens.
While, in Quarter 1 of FY-2021, the top five nationalities ie Mexico, India, Cuba, the Philippines, and China, accounted for 35 percent of the naturalisations, according to the report from US Homeland Security.
The US federal government’s fiscal year starts from 1 October and ends on 30 September.
The USCIS commemorated Fourth Of July 2022 Independence Day activities by hosting special naturalisation ceremonies across the country.
For example, a naturalisation ceremony for military service members at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego on 1 July, a ceremony at the Vienna Town Green in Washington DC on 2 July which was attended by Avril Haines, Director of National Intelligence, and a ceremony at George Washington’s Mount Vernon on 4 July which was attended by Janet Yellen, US Treasury Secretary.
USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou said making the choice to be an American is one of the most patriotic things a person does and added that she was proud to celebrate those people who have “invested their lives and hopes in our nation as new US citizens.”
“Throughout our nation’s history, the promise of both life and liberty, and the freedom to pursue happiness, is what has drawn millions from across the globe to call America their home.”
Ur M. Jaddou, USCIS Director
Fourth of July is celebrated as the day that the Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, declaring that the 13 American colonies considered themselves as a separate and new nation. Thus, the United States of America were no longer a part of the British Empire, Jaddou added.
Jaddou said that other special naturalisation ceremonies will be held at the new York Public Library, the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia’s Historic District, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, and national parks such as the Saguaro National Park in Arizona and Valley Forge in Pennsylvania.
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