Hobnob News reports that a total of 47,819 Nigerians were sworn in as naturalised American citizens between 2019 and 2023, according to the latest U.S. Naturalisations Annual Flow Report released by the Department of Homeland Security.
The report, updated in August 2025 by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics, compiles data from Form N-400 applications and electronic case files used by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Between October 2019 and September 2020, 8,930 Nigerians completed their oath ceremonies, despite the COVID-19 shutdowns that halted proceedings for nearly three months. The following year, 10,921 Nigerians were naturalised as USCIS worked through pandemic backlogs.
A record-breaking 14,438 Nigerians took the oath of allegiance in 2022, representing a 32 percent rise from the previous year. However, the figure dropped slightly to 13,530 in 2023.
Collectively, these naturalisations account for 1.4 percent of the 341,884 Africans who became U.S. citizens during the same period. Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) ranked among the top 30 African source countries, with DRC recording about 6,000 naturalisations in 2022 alone. Other African contributors included Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya.
The report highlights a surge in African naturalisations, which rose by 43 percent between 2020 and 2023—the fastest growth among all continents. Africans also had one of the shortest waiting periods, with a median of six years in lawful permanent resident status before qualifying for citizenship.
Globally, Mexico led naturalisations with 437,697 new citizens within the same timeframe, followed by India (230,164), the Philippines (180,073), Cuba (159,393), and the Dominican Republic (116,523). Together, the top ten countries accounted for more than half of all 3.3 million naturalisations recorded.
The USCIS stressed that the path to naturalisation requires applicants to be at least 18 years old, hold permanent residency for five years (or three if married to a U.S. citizen), demonstrate continuous residence and good moral character, and pass English and civics tests before taking the oath.
For decades, Europeans dominated U.S. naturalisations until reforms in 1965 broadened immigration quotas to include Asia and Africa. Since 2020, Africa has recorded the fastest naturalisation growth worldwide.
Overall, U.S. naturalisations declined to 878,460 in 2023, down from 969,000 in 2022, though still above the decade-long average.
