Having a green card has certain benefits for immigrants who live in the U.S. They can travel in and out of the country more easily. They can get a Social Security card. And they can help their spouse and children immigrate.
But in recent years, increasing numbers of green-card holders have decided to take the next step and become naturalized U.S. citizens. Last year, 843,593 immigrants took the oath the highest number in 11 years—according to the Department of Homeland Security Office of Immigration Statistics.
The process takes up to a year, costs $725 and requires applicants to pass a citizenship test, among other hurdles. But it also affords newly minted citizens additional benefits, including the right to vote. This year, more than 23 million naturalized citizens were eligible to vote in the presidential election—making up roughly 10% of the nation’s electorate, the highest share since 1970—according to the Pew Research Centre, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, D.C.
Periodic increases in naturalizations might have to do with anticipated changes in fees or the implementation of new laws, according to Irene Bloemraad, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who contributed to a 2015 National Academies of Sciences report on the integration of immigrants.
Periodic increases in naturalizations might have to do with anticipated changes in fees or the implementation of new laws, according to Irene Bloemraad, a sociologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who contributed to a 2015 National Academies of Sciences report on the integration of immigrants.
She also remembered her son’s wish to become a naturalized citizen as she answered questions he never would. In 2012, just before turning 18 years old, Keanu, her son, died suddenly.
“I cried when the immigration officer asked me about him. I carried him, his voice, his smile and his soul with me during these two hours. I became American for us two.”
Mrs. Bizouati-Kennedy said she also thought about the concerts, parties and museums she had attended over the years; her favourite bodega and the Yemeni owners who knew what she wanted before she asked; the book she recently co-wrote; and Brooklyn, where she spent 17 years before moving to Florida with her husband, Paul, an American she married three years ago.
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