United States approved 72 percent fewer naturalizations in 2026
About 173,000 citizenship applications were approved from January through August, while pending cases exceeded 800,000.
Approvals of U.S. citizenship applications fell 72 percent from January through August 2026 compared with the same period a year earlier. About 173,000 naturalizations were approved during those eight months. The decline reflects fewer favorable decisions during that period as the volume of unresolved applications grew. One measure counts approvals and the other cases still pending.
The number of unresolved applications exceeded 800,000 in August 2026. In January 2025, that backlog stood at about 500,000. The comparison shows growth in pending cases, although the figures do not trace the path of each application. The approval count covers eight months and is not the total number of applications filed nationally.
The figures describe different aspects of the system. Approved naturalizations count completed decisions between January and August; pending cases represent applications unresolved at a particular date. Together they show fewer approvals during the 2026 period and a larger backlog than in January 2025. Neither figure alone indicates how long an individual case will take.
The picture also matters to Cubans waiting to become U.S. citizens. The decline in approvals and growth in pending cases refer to the country as a whole, not solely to Cuban applicants. The numbers therefore measure the general condition of the process rather than providing a community-specific calculation.
Overall, the data combine a sharp contraction in approvals during the first eight months of 2026 with more than 800,000 unresolved applications by the end of August. Compared with about 500,000 pending in January 2025, the later figure shows a substantial increase in accumulated cases. The roughly 173,000 approvals correspond to the same 2026 period used for the 72 percent year-over-year comparison.