22 Jun More than 600,000 Became Naturalized U.S. Citizens in 2011
The National Journal reported that New York City took the crown as the metropolitan area with the most naturalized citizens in 2011, according to date from the Annual Flow Report by the U.S. Office of Immigration Statistics. Los Angeles and Miami rounded out the top three. Of the 694,193 immigrants naturalized in 2011, more than half were concentrated in the top 10 metropolitan areas, mostly along the East Coast between Boston and Washington, D.C. The Atlantic Cities also calculated for total population size (looking at number of naturalized citizens for every 100,000) and found that the concentrations changed slightly. While there were still hubs along California and the East Coast, larger numbers appeared in Florida, with the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area topping the list. In other words, these areas had more naturalized citizens relative to total population. The top countries of origin for naturalized citizens were Mexico, India, the Philippines, China, and Colombia. The number of naturalizations had increased from 619,913 in 2010. This is following sharp decreases from two years prior: 743,715 in 2009 and more than 1 million in 2008. The increase in 2008 is attributed to efforts that year to get more eligible immigrants to apply for naturalization in lieu of an upcoming application fee increase, according to the report.