Characteristics of People Who Naturalized Between FY 2015 and FY 2019
Overview
Over 3.7 million people became U.S. citizens between fiscal years (FY) 2015 and 2019.1 This fact sheet summarizes data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) naturalization records to provide information on the demographic characteristics of these new citizens.2
On average, nearly 760,000 individuals naturalized each year in the FY 2015-2019 period, with annual totals ranging from 707,300 to 843,600. The yearly number of naturalizations depends both on operational factors, such as application processing times, and other factors such as the number of LPRs eligible to naturalize at any given time, their motivation to apply, and their ability to pay the associated fees.3 Naturalized citizens are becoming more diverse in their place of residence spreading out across the United States. Naturalized citizens in FY 2015 to FY 2019 spent a slightly longer time (a median of 7.7 years) as lawful permanent residents before naturalizing compared to a median of 7.3 years in FY 20092014. The median age for the FY 2015-2019 population increased by one year to 41 years old. Females and married new citizens made up a higher proportion of naturalized citizens compared to males and individuals with other marital statuses. The majority of people who naturalized came to the United States as immediate relatives of U.S. citizens or through family-sponsored preference categories.