Joe Biden’s reversal of Donald Trump’s immigration policies and the clearance of the Covid backlog in citizenship applications led to 18 per cent surge in US citizenships granted during the Biden administration.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services data show that 34,80,241 citizenships were granted in four years of Biden’s rule compared with 29,41,012 in Trump’s regime and 29,16,664 during Obama’s second stint (2013-16). However, the surge did not benefit Indians, who have held the second-highest share of US citizenship issuances, historically after Mexico.

Citizenship grants

The share of citizenship grants to Mexicans, Indians and Chinese nationals declined between 2017 and 2024. Simultaneously, the share of nationals of Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Cuba and Vietnam went up, more so during the Biden administration.

Share of citizenship grants to Indians was 7.2 per cent in 2017 and came down to 6.1 per cent in 2024. Share of Mexicans in total citizenship issuances reduced from 16.8 per cent in 2017 to 13.1 per cent in 2024. Share of Vietnamese nationals grew from 2.7 per cent to 4.1 per cent in the same years. 

“While immigrants from the Dominican Republic represent just 3 per cent of the 46.2 million immigrants in the US, this population is increasing significantly faster than the overall US foreign-born population —growing 46 per cent since 2010 compared with 16 per cent for all immigrants,” a note from the Migration Policy Institute said.

Generally, people who get naturalised come to the US as immediate relatives of US citizens or under family-sponsored categories, for employment, or also as refugees and asylees.

Published on January 22, 2025