But the 26-year-old hasn’t heard back about the next step in her naturalization process, even though she is in the final stages. A backlog in naturalization applications at the U.S. USCIS records show the average time for processing citizenship applications in fiscal year 2020 was nearly nine months. For many immigrants who decide to pursue citizenship, naturalization is the culmination of a years-long process and often a deeply personal journey. As of March 31, the last date for which data is publicly available, more than 700,000 citizenship applications were still pending, according to agency data.

Source: Washington Post August 31, 2020 21:36 UTC