US Approves Over 54,000 Citizenship Applications, Details Surface
- USCIS processed 140,179 N-400 citizenship applications between April and June 2026, approving 54,974 of them
- The citizenship approval data forms part of a broader USCIS quarterly report covering multiple immigration categories
- A backlog of 727,371 citizenship cases remained pending at the close of the quarter, with a median processing time of 9.5 months
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The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved 54,974 citizenship applications during the third quarter of fiscal year 2026, covering the period from April to June, according to official agency data published on 13 October 2026.
The figures relate to the N-400 form, which is the standard application used by eligible immigrants seeking to become naturalised American citizens.
Source: TikTok
Out of 140,179 applications received during the quarter, USCIS completed decisions on 67,565 cases in total.
At the close of the quarter, 727,371 citizenship cases remained in the pending queue, with a median processing time of 9.5 months.
What the USCIS Citizenship Numbers Show
The 54,974 approvals recorded between April and June represent a significant volume of people gaining the right to call themselves American citizens.
For many of these individuals, the journey to naturalisation will have involved years of living and working in the United States on various visa categories before becoming eligible to apply.
The N-400 is filed by permanent residents who meet the residency and eligibility requirements set out by USCIS.
Applicants must typically have held a Green Card for at least five years, or three years if married to a US citizen, before they can submit the form.
Citizenship Among a Range of Immigration Decisions
The citizenship data sits within a wider quarterly USCIS report that covered approvals across multiple immigration pathways. Employment-based Green Card applicants also saw 42,076 approvals on the I-485 form during the same period, while asylum-based work permit applications recorded 117,965 approvals, processing at a median turnaround of just 0.8 months, the fastest of any category in the report.
DACA work permit approvals also stood out, with 76,053 approved on the I-765 form during the quarter, a figure that surpassed the combined total of the first two quarters of the fiscal year.
The USCIS data provides a snapshot of the scale of immigration processing across the United States and remains a closely watched indicator for those navigating the path to permanent residency and citizenship.
US ends extension for certain workers
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that US Department of Homeland Security published a final rule ending automatic extensions for certain employment authorisation documents.
The rule finalises an interim regulation first introduced on October 30, 2025, which affected foreign nationals renewing their work permits in select categories.
Source: Legit.ng
