U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

[phkrause]

?? Citizenship moves at faster clip

Newly sworn-in American citizens wave the flag at a naturalization ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston earlier this year. Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images The federal government is processing citizenship applications from legal immigrants at the fastest pace in a decade, the N.Y. Times reports. Why it matters: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is clearing a backlog that built up during the Trump administration and COVID. ? By the numbers: The government is taking an average of 4.9 months to process citizenship applications during the current fiscal year, according to federal data. That's less than half of the pre-pandemic high of 10 months during the Trump years. COVID-era applications in 2021 took almost a year to process. How it works: Most legal immigrants are eligible to become citizens if they have been permanent residents with a green card for five years — or have been married to an American citizen for three years. Keep reading (gift link).