Johanan Rivera considered becoming a U.S. citizen for years but delayed, worried it might make him feel less “Mexicanness.” After 15 years as a permanent resident, he applied in February 2025 and took the oath about a year later. “The second Trump administration came into office, and [my partner and I] wanted more certainty about being able to live in the same country,” he said after his March naturalization ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Newly released USCIS data show 2025 was marked by wild swings in naturalization applications and a decline in approvals. Immigration experts say the patterns reflect how the Trump administration’s tougher policies, ramped-up deportation rhetoric and increased scrutiny have affected people at the end of their legal immigration journeys.
Early in Trump’s second term there was a rush to secure citizenship: from February through April 2025, 270,290 people applied. The administration also approved record numbers of naturalizations in those months. At the peak in 2025, USCIS approved 88,488 applications in a single month — the largest monthly total since USCIS began publishing month-by-month data in 2022. But by January 2026 approvals had fallen to 32,862, the lowest recorded.
Applications themselves were volatile. October 2025 saw a four‑year record 169,159 applications — then the very next month only 41,478 applied, the year’s low. Overall monthly completions (approvals plus denials) plunged from 78,379 in September 2025 to 37,832 by January 2026.
Experts link spikes to political uncertainty and policy announcements. Theresa Cardinal Brown, an immigration consultant and fellow at Cornell Law School, said fears of mass deportations likely pushed many eligible but previously unmotivated residents to apply quickly. “People who want to secure their place and be sure that they are not subject to deportation might have wanted to gain their citizenship,” she said.
At the same time, USCIS announced a series of tougher measures. The agency said it paused decisions for applicants from high‑risk countries and added more screening and vetting: reinstating the 2020 civics test for 2025, strengthening English requirements, reviewing applicants’ social media for anti‑American activities, and restoring neighborhood investigations to assess “good moral character” and attachment to the Constitution. USCIS said it would not take shortcuts in adjudications and framed changes as restoring integrity and security.
In August 2025 the agency issued guidance emphasizing stricter evaluations of moral character and in September proposed a longer, tougher citizenship test and reintroduced neighborhood checks, a practice largely unused since 1991. Those steps, officials and advocates say, are time‑consuming and have likely slowed approvals.
The administration also paused processing for people from some countries — a halt affecting applicants from 39 nations and those with Palestinian Authority travel documents — following a November shooting in Washington, D.C. involving an Afghan national. The pause further reduced approvals and added to uncertainty.
Community leaders report that the climate of fear and political messaging has discouraged many immigrants from engaging with federal agencies. Gianina Horton, an Aurora, Colorado, city council member, said eligible people there are declining to apply: “There is an understanding that we’re in a political climate where it is unsafe for a lot of immigrants to engage with federal agencies,” she said, describing a real‑time risk assessment by immigrants worried about being targeted if they “put my name on a list.”
Advocates say the shifting rules and rhetoric have sown distrust. “Giving somebody citizenship is granting somebody status as an American. There’s an effort to control that,” said Margy O’Herron of the Brennan Center for Justice. Nicole Melaku of the National Partnership for New Americans said the declining numbers suggest the administration may be slow‑walking or denying citizenship opportunities.
Some applicants in the final stages were turned away from scheduled ceremonies. That unpredictability has alarmed people who followed the rules. “What we see this administration doing is targeting even people who have followed all the rules,” O’Herron said.
Applicants describe fear during interviews and ceremonies. Daniel Chigirinsky, who applied in spring 2025 and became a citizen in March, said, “Showing up for the interview was a terrifying experience,” even though he had nothing to worry about. Rivera described the decision to naturalize as driven by a need for security: “[U.S. citizenship] gives flexibility and security.”
USCIS officials characterize the changes as necessary to ensure applicants meet standards for citizenship. Critics say the cumulative effect of policy shifts, heightened vetting, and pauses in processing has produced real declines in both applications and approvals and has eroded trust in the immigration system at a pivotal moment for would‑be citizens.