A total of 47,819 Nigerians became naturalised citizens of the United States between 2019 and 2023, according to data from the U.S Department of Homeland Security.
The figures were published in the updated U.S Naturalizations Annual Flow Report, compiled by the Office of Homeland Security Statistics and released in August 2025.
The data was sourced from Form N-400, which every would-be U.S citizen must submit, and from the electronic case files used by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to track the progress of applicants from biometric capture to oath-taking.
2019–2020: 8,930 Nigerians were naturalised during this period, which was affected by COVID-19 shutdowns.
Between March 18 and June 4, 2020, oath ceremonies were suspended for 11 weeks.
2021: 10,921 Nigerians became U.S citizens as USCIS cleared the backlog created by the pandemic.
2022: 14,438 Nigerians were naturalised, the highest single-year figure ever recorded for Nigeria.
2023: The number dropped slightly to 13,530.
Together, these four years account for a total of 47,819 Nigerians, making up approximately 1.4% of all 3.3 million foreign-born individuals who naturalised in the U.S during the period.
Nigeria was one of the top 30 source countries for U.S naturalisations. Other African nations with significant numbers include the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, and Kenya.
African-born nationals accounted for 11% of total U.S naturalisations in both 2022 and 2023, the highest share on record. From 2020 to 2023, naturalisations among Africans increased by 43%, the fastest growth of any continent.
Africans also had one of the shortest waiting times, with a median of six years in lawful permanent residency (green card status) before taking the oath, tied with Asia and faster than the global average.
Globally, Mexico had the highest number of naturalisations (437,697) during the period, followed by India (230,164), the Philippines (180,073), Cuba (159,393) and the Dominican Republic (116,523).
The USCIS clarified that naturalisation is based on eligibility under the Immigration and Nationality Act, which includes a thorough review of applicants’ backgrounds, legal residency status, English proficiency and knowledge of U.S civics.
