New Delhi: With the run-up to the US presidential elections nearing, there was seen a significant growth in the number of Indians opting for a green card (technically termed as lawful permanent) to obtain citizenship.
A little over 5.44 lakh foreign nationals became US citizens during the first three quarters of the fiscal year 2018 (which is the nine-month period ended June last year). Interestingly, this is a rise of 15% over the same period last year.
On the other hand, 7.07 lakh immigrants had become US citizens during the first fiscal year, which ended on September 30, 2017- a 6% decline from the previous fiscal. Data in this regard was released recently by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the immigration agency of the US government.
During the official nine-month period which ended on June 30, 2018, as many as 37, 431 Indians became US citizens (nearly 7% of the total), making them the second- -largest group following Mexico. Chinese were the third-largest group, with 28,547 (5% of the total) obtaining US citizenship.
As compared to the previous corresponding period, 5,950 more Indians were conferred US citizenship during the first three quarters of fiscal 2018, which is an increase of 19%. Similarly, the increase in Mexicans is 22% and for Chinese, it is 18%.
Immigrant experts view the rise in citizenship is owing to two key factors – uncertainty on the immigration policy front, which even renders green card holders vulnerable, and the desire to vote in the forthcoming elections.
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Ms Kalinga