Magdalena Kluchko’s quest for citizenship initially proceeded as she expected: She applied in September 2024, passed the English language and civics tests, and sat for her naturalization interview in July 2025.
But then nothing happened.
Kluchko, a 46-year-old German immigrant working as a life insurance executive in Worcester, Massachusetts, told an immigration lawyer about her situation nearly a year after the interview.
At the lawyer’s recommendation, she sued — a step that’s been relatively rare in the past decade but increasingly common as the Trump administration has slowed citizenship applications in recent months, according to immigration lawyers.
Federal immigration officials approved 173,000 people for citizenship through the first eight months of 2026, down 72 percent from the same period a year earlier. The administration has also canceled or scaled back naturalization ceremonies around the country, alarming civic groups who typically attend the ceremonies to register new voters.
The slowdown in processing citizenship applications is part of a broader effort by President Donald Trump to reshape citizenship, long viewed as the sacrosanct culmination of the U.S. immigration process. Backlogs in naturalization applications rose from about 500,000 cases at the start of the second Trump administration to more than 800,000 as of August.
In a recent social media post, the Department of Homeland Security touted the drop in naturalization approvals as part of its attempts at “remigration” — a far-right term associated with expelling immigrants and non-Whites.
“Net negative migration for the first time in HALF a CENTURY,” DHS wrote. “Americans are amassing victories NEVER seen before thanks to President Trump.”
The sudden falloff means even more would-be citizens are in limbo and unable to vote as the Nov. 3 midterms approach. Several immigration lawyers told The Washington Post that processing had dramatically slowed or interviews had stalled. Four immigrants interviewed for this article said the delays had caused major disruptions in their lives, leaving them wondering what would happen.
“I’ve been here for 20 years pretty much. This is where my life is,” Kluchko said. “I felt that I’m invested in this country. I’d like to vote. I’d like to be a full citizen.”
In Milwaukee, certain ceremonies that typically swore in 200 to 300 people stopped in January, according to Peg Schrader, president of the Milwaukee chapter of the League of Women Voters. The League registers new voters at naturalization ceremonies around the country.
Schrader said she did not know why the ceremonies stopped, “but the result is that we have fewer and fewer people to register to vote.”
The last two ceremonies in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County — a Democratic stronghold in the swing state — were also canceled, said Amy Widestrom, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania. The next one is scheduled for Nov. 12, nine days after the election.
Trump has tried to reshape citizenship in other ways.
On the first day of his second term, Trump issued an executive order that sought to restrict access to birthright citizenship, a move later rebuffed by the Supreme Court. The Trump administration has also increased efforts to denaturalize people it alleges improperly obtained citizenship.
Federal agents last week raided the D.C. residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), who entered the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia. While officials have not publicly provided details of the investigation, people familiar with it have said it focuses on possible immigration fraud and could lead to charges or administrative action related to her citizenship.
It is highly unusual for authorities to conduct such a probe of a sitting lawmaker based on immigration records and activity that date back many decades. The Justice Department has said the search was authorized by a judge and was part of a criminal investigation.
Mae Ngai, a Columbia University professor and historian, said the administration’s actions have started to erode the value of naturalized citizenship.
“Naturalized citizenship is, according to the Constitution, equal to birthright citizenship,” she said. “Now they’re trying to break that down.”
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which processes naturalization applications, had heightened vetting and “implemented reforms to ensure U.S. citizenship is reserved for those who qualify.”
The changes include returning to a version of the civics test from the first Trump administration in 2020, increasing English language proficiency requirements and stepping up screening of social media for “anti-American activities.”
“Naturalization is a privilege, not a right,” the spokesperson said.
The new vetting includes greater scrutiny of tax returns, a more in-depth assessment of whether applicants have “good moral character” and interviews with neighbors and co-workers, current and former officials said.
USCIS is also prioritizing the revetting of immigration applications approved during the Biden administration over new approvals, two senior Trump administration officials said.
“There were allegations, especially toward the end of the last administration, that they were kind of rushing them through,” one of the officials said.
Several former Biden administration officials rejected the suggestion that applications were not adequately vetted.
“What is their evidence? They have none because it’s not true,” said Doug Rand, a senior adviser at USCIS under President Joe Biden. “This is obviously ideological.”
But the drop in approvals under the Trump administration does not mean more people were denied. Denials also fell by 41 percent during the first eight months of this year compared with the same period a year earlier, meaning far fewer cases were being decided.
Immigration attorneys say they’re seeing fewer naturalization interviews being scheduled.
“Cases are just not getting to that final step,” said Anjana Prasad, founder of Clearbox, a service that helps people prepare their naturalization applications.
Average wait times ballooned from around six months in August 2025 to nearly 13 months a year later.
Matthew Maiona, an immigration attorney in Boston who has handled naturalization cases for 30 years, said he is increasingly recommending that clients pursue federal lawsuits when possible — a step he rarely recommended in the past.
“In the old days, it was maybe one a year, maybe two a year,” he said. “In the past month, I’ve recommended four people.”
M.B., an Indian-born engineer living in the Detroit area who spoke on the condition that only his initials be used because he fears speaking out could further delay his case, said he applied for citizenship in 2025 but was still waiting to be scheduled for an interview. The long wait, he said, has negatively affected his job and family life.
Before applying, M.B., who works for a company that designs automotive seats, traveled abroad six to eight times a year for work. He told his manager he can’t leave the country now as he awaits the citizenship interview.
“Thankfully my work is understanding because of the current situation, but it’s preventing me from getting things done,” he said.
He hasn’t visited family in West Bengal, fearing the interview could be scheduled while he’s away.
M.B. said he also worries about becoming a target for immigration enforcement. Like many immigrants, he sees news reports of violent arrests and people with legal status being detained.
“What if something like that happens to me tomorrow?” he said. “If I have my citizenship, at least I’m getting out of a detention center in a certain amount of time.”
Like Kluchko, more immigrants appear to be filing “mandamus” lawsuits seeking to require the federal government to process their applications. Under federal law, an applicant can request a hearing if a decision hasn’t been made within 120 days of the interview.
Sara Daoud, 32, has been grappling with the naturalization process since July 2023 and has sat for multiple interviews with USCIS. She came to the U.S. in 2013 to attend the City College of New York and is vying for a medical residency in the area.
As a Brooklyn resident, she sought help from the office of Rep. Yvette D. Clarke (D-New York). A staffer sent her an email in March that said all naturalization ceremonies were paused “as per the President.”
Daoud filed a lawsuit in April and a federal court last month gave USCIS until mid-November to make a decision.
“There doesn’t seem to be any logical, straightforward, non-malicious reason why they would be doing any of this,” said Daoud, who is from Egypt. She added that she feels she was discriminated against because she’s from a majority-Muslim country.
Amir Davijani, an Iranian-born scientist in the Bay Area, filed a lawsuit over a delay that dated to 2023. USCIS called him in for two interviews in November 2025, including one that lasted four hours.
“The only thing missing was one of those hanging lights in the interrogation rooms,” he said. “The officer was really grilling me on my responses.”
After being approved, he was sworn in as a citizen by the district court judge in March.
Hiring a lawyer to file a lawsuit can cost thousands of dollars, but USCIS will typically process the application and not fight in court, multiple lawyers said.
Kluchko applied for citizenship in 2024 after Germany relaxed its rules around dual citizenship. She works as the chief medical director at a life insurance company and is eager to vote in the United States. A month after filing her mandamus lawsuit, she got a response from USCIS, she said.
Her naturalization application was approved and a citizenship ceremony was scheduled for Aug. 26 at a botanical garden north of Worcester.
“I was fortunate to be in a position where I could afford this,” she said, “but I know many people are not.”
Emmanuel Martinez contributed to this report.
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