(Image source from: UaPost)
As many Indians dream of acquiring the United States citizenship amid Trump administration's arduous rules, the percentage of country natives who obtained U.S. naturalization in 2017 has increased by 10 percent.
A whole of 50,802 Indians became the U.S. citizen, just second to Mexico, which saw a 14 percent growth in the same year.
Although there was a fall of six percent in Fiscal Year 2017, over 4,500 more Indians were sworn in as the U.S. citizens, only next to Mexico.
According to a report in The Times of India, the sizable numeric increase in naturalization occurred among immigrants born in Mexico (an increase of 15,009, or 14 percent), India (4,614, 10 percent) and China (1,880, 5 percent).
The news organization quoted a data released recently by the U.S. Department of homeland security and stated that immigration experts say those aspiring to become the U.S. citizens are now finding it tougher.
According to the New York Times, the U.S. President Donald Trump plans to cap the number of refugees that can be resettled in the U.S. next year at 30,000. The number represents the lowest ceiling a president has placed on the refugee program since its creation in 1980, and a reduction of a third from the 45,000-person limit that Trump set for 2018.
Despite that, the naturalization upswing comes close on the heels of the reported 8.3 lakh growth in the number of Indian immigrants entering the U.S. over the past seven years.
The TOI report stated that in aggregate, seven lakh individuals were conferred citizenship by the U.S. government during the fiscal year 2017 (the period between October 1, 2016, and September 30, 2017), of which Indians constituted seven percent. As compared to the previous year, 4,600 more Indians have conferred the U.S. citizenship in 2017.
The naturalization process confers the U.S. citizenship upon foreign nationals who have met relevant requirements. Post this, they obtain the right to vote.
Usually, only green cardholders can opt for the naturalization process. While a green card is a permit to live and work long-term in the U.S., the flux in visa policies and the focus on more jobs for citizens is inducing many green card-holders to opt for the U.S. citizenship, TOI quoted immigration experts as saying.
By Sowmya Sangam
