The queue for US citizenship is getting longer, not shorter. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approved 15,349 naturalisation applications in August 2026, down from 18,439 in June, while new filings reached 54,492 in August — more than three times the number approved that month, according to USCIS monthly data reported by Nation Press.

Source: Nation Press

The pending caseload stood at 813,453 applications in August, up from 744,412 in June. Of those, 513,462 applicants had been waiting more than six months, and the average processing time was 12.7 months, according to the same USCIS data.

Source: Nation Press

Why this hits Indian families directly

India was the second-largest country of birth among people who became US citizens in fiscal year 2024, with about 49,700 India-born people naturalised — 6.1% of all new citizens that year, according to Department of Homeland Security figures cited in the reporting. A slower naturalisation pipeline therefore delays voting rights, family sponsorship options and travel security for a large Indian and Punjabi diaspora population.

Source: Shafaqna India

Bloomberg Law reported separately that citizenship approvals have fallen sharply a year into the administration's second term and that applications themselves are dropping, with naturalisation filings down 35% in the Seattle field office, 40% in Chicago and 48% in Phoenix in the third quarter of fiscal 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. Advocates told Bloomberg Law that fear of the enforcement environment is deterring would-be applicants, and USCIS in August adopted a policy reintroducing neighbourhood investigations of citizenship applicants.

Source: Bloomberg Law

The National Partnership for New Americans, an advocacy coalition, said on October 21 that the latest USCIS quarterly data showed the lowest level of naturalisation approvals in over six years, with just 54,000 people approved and over 742,000 cases pending. The group characterised the delays as deliberate — that is the coalition's allegation, not a finding by USCIS, which has not publicly explained the decline in the reporting reviewed.

Source: National Partnership for New Americans

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, posted on X citing Cato Institute data and accused the administration of blocking green-card holders who are waiting for citizenship approval. Jayapal is herself a naturalised US citizen born in Chennai.

Source: Nation Press

Immigration lawyers quoted in the reporting advise applicants to file complete, error-free Form N-400 applications and keep their address current with USCIS. Eligibility generally begins after five years as a lawful permanent resident, or three years for those married to a US citizen, with an English and civics test and an interview. Awaaz Punjab will follow the next USCIS data release.