US citizenship, which is attained through the naturalization process, brings many benefits to immigrants and to the United States. Naturalization allows immigrants to participate fully in the civic life of the country, and is a powerful symbolic gesture of commitment to the United States. Citizenship carries voting rights, the ability to travel freely on a US passport, US government protection and assistance when abroad, substantially increased ability to sponsor relatives living abroad, protection against deportation, and access to the federal safety net of income support and other benefits.

The importance of citizenship has risen in the past decade as legal immigrants’ access to safety net services and protection from deportation was reduced with the passage of new laws in 1996. While citizenship rates are rising, many eligible immigrants have not applied. Many of those who have not applied are low income (41 percent), do not speak English well (60 percent), or have low levels of education (25 percent). All raise challenges in designing a new citizenship test and in setting fees that would-be citizens can afford.

The Demographic Impacts of Repealing Birthright Citizenship
By Jennifer Van Hook with Michael Fix
Repeal of birthright citizenship for the US-born children of unauthorized immigrants would expand the unauthorized population by at least 5 million over the next four decades. Employing standard demographic techniques, this analysis suggests that there would be 4.7 million unauthorized immigrants as of 2050 who had been born in the United States — 1 million of them with US-born mother and father — if birthright citizenship were denied to children born to parents who are both unauthorized immigrants. While some policymakers are discussing changes to birthright citizenship as a means to reduce illegal immigration, the report makes clear such a move could in fact significantly increase the size of the unauthorized population.
Download Report | Press Release

Role of Foreign-born Voters in Elections
MPI election profiles for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, examining voter registration by nativity, providing breakdowns for foreign-born citizens as a share of total state population, and detailing their turnout in the 2004 general election, and by ethnicity.

The Redesigned Citizenship Test: High Stakes
By Laureen Laglagaron and Bhavna Devani
MPI Backgrounder No. 6, September 2008
More than a decade in the making, the redesigned citizenship test required for use after October 1, 2008 is supposed to provide a more meaningful opportunity for applicants to demonstrate knowledge about US history and civics, and allow the government more standardized test administration. This MPI Backgrounder details the redesign process, examines whether the government met its goals, and provides policy recommendations.
Backgrounder | Press Release

Behind the Naturalization Backlog
By Claire Bergeron and Jeremy Banks
Fact Sheet No. 21, February 2008

Securing the Future: US Immigrant Integration Policy, A Reader
Volume edited by Michael Fix, February 2007

Citizenship Fee Increases In Context
By Julia Gelatt and Margie McHugh
Fact Sheet No. 15, February 2007

New Americans: Facts on Naturalization and Birthright Citizenship
By Mary Helen Johnson, Michael Fix, and Julie Murray
Securing the Future: US Immigrant Integration Policy, A Reader
February 2007

From Immigrant to Citizen
By Janet Murguia and Cecilia Muñoz
Securing the Future: US Immigrant Integration Policy, A Reader
February 2007
(Originally published in The American Prospect, Volume 16, No. 11)

In fiscal year (FY) 2007, 1,383,275 people applied to become naturalized US citizens, nearly twice the number in FY 2006 (730,642).

As of May 2007, USCIS reported that the agency had 329,160 FBI name-check cases pending. FBI name checks are required for all citizenship applicants.

To be eligible for naturalization, most applicants must show five years (three years if married to a US citizen) of continuous residence in the United States as a permanent resident. Lawful permanent residents serving in the US armed forces do not have a continuous residence requirement, so long as they have served for at least one year.

February 2008
US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received 460,294 naturalization applications in July 2007, the month before the agency substantially increased all of its fees, according to data USCIS provided to MPI. That figure is 7 times the 61,665 naturalization applications the agency received in July 2006.

November 2007
The average processing time for naturalization applications increased to 16 to 18 months from seven months according to USCIS. The agency said the increase is due to an unprecedented number of naturalization applications received during the summer of 2007.

September 2007
USCIS released the final version of its new citizenship test, which will require applicants to correctly answer six out of 10 civics questions that can be pulled from a published list of 100. Applicants who apply for citizenship after October 1, 2008, and applicants whose naturalization interviews are scheduled after October 1, 2009, must take the new test.

Immigrants and Local Governance: The View from City Hall
By S. Karthick Ramakrishnan and Paul G. Lewis
Public Policy Institute of California
2005

A More Perfect Union: A National Citizenship Plan
Catholic Legal Immigration Services, Inc.,  January 2007

Pass Rates for the Current US Naturalization Test: Results from the Records Study
A report prepared for the US Department of Homeland Security, American Institutes for Research, 2006