In the last three years, Nigerians have emerged as the leading African group to acquire United States citizenship, with more than 34,000 nationals naturalized between 2020 and 2022, according to new data released by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
The report shows that Nigeria ranked 15th globally among all countries of birth for new American citizens, making it the only African nation in the top tier alongside the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
A yearly breakdown reveals steady growth: 8,930 Nigerians became U.S. citizens in 2020, a number that rose to 10,921 in 2021, and then jumped to 14,438 in 2022, marking the highest annual figure recorded. This upward trend reflects both a backlog clearance by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and increasing interest by Nigerians in securing permanent ties with the U.S.
Overall, Africans accounted for 248,553 new U.S. citizens in the three-year period, with Nigeria contributing the largest share at about 3 percent. The DRC followed closely, with its naturalization figures nearly doubling in 2022. The African continent as a whole recorded the fastest growth rate of naturalizations worldwide, posting a 40 percent increase between 2021 and 2022.
Globally, Mexico topped the list with 326,237 naturalizations, followed by India (171,114), the Philippines (135,313), and others including Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, China, Jamaica, El Salvador, and Colombia. Together, the top ten countries accounted for nearly half of the 2.4 million naturalizations recorded worldwide in the period under review.
Analysts say the steady rise of Nigerians securing U.S. citizenship underscores both the country’s ongoing migration wave and the strong presence of the Nigerian diaspora in the United States.
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