More than 33 thousand Cubans became US citizens in 2023

More than 33,000 Cubans became US citizens in 2023, in the midst of the immigration crisis affecting the island.

The United States Immigration Service (USCIS)reported which welcomed 878,500 new citizens in fiscal year 2023 during naturalization ceremonies held in the United States and around the world.

In fiscal year 2023, Cuba was the fifth applicant nationality with33,200 new nationals, behind Mexico, India, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic.

It also ranked seventh among countries with the highest number of new citizens and the median number of years they spent as legal permanent residents.

"Of these countries, applicants from Mexico and Canada spent the most time, at 10.4 years, and applicants from Nigeria spent the least, at 5.6 years," the information states.

In the country there are more than 7.7 million naturalized citizens.

Naturalizations infiscal years 2022 and 2023 accounted for almost a quarter (24%) of all naturalizations in the last decade.

USCIS states that "The decision to become a U.S. citizen is an important milestone in an immigrant's life" and that "Candidates for citizenship must demonstrate that they are committed to the unifying principles that unite us as Americans. Because of that commitment, a Instead, they will enjoy the fundamental rights and privileges of American citizenship."

In itfiscal year 2022 Cuba was among the four countries with more naturalized citizens in the United States.

The naturalizations from that period were still migrants benefiting from the "Wet Feet, Dry Feet" policy, which was eliminated in January 2017 by former President Barack Obama. Later, a floating population of undocumented immigrants grew who entered through the borders and cannot benefit from the Cuban Adjustment Law.

Last year it emerged that some988,000 Cuban migrants would have chosen Florida to settle since the exodus of citizens from the Island began in 1959, giving impetus to a phenomenon that would transform the demographic composition of the State of the Sun.

Of the 1.3 million Cuban immigrants residing in the United States, almost one million have resided or reside in Florida, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) of that country.