At Campos Law Firm, we closely monitor developments in U.S. immigration policy to protect our clients’ rights and future. On October 23, 2026, The Washington Post reported that naturalization approvals fell 72% between January and August 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, and that the queue of pending applications grew from about 500,000 to more than 800,000 cases.
If you filed Form N-400 and have gone months without news, that number explains much of your wait. Below, we explain what is known, what is not, and what you can do.
What do the numbers say about naturalization in 2026?
According to the Post, about 173,000 naturalizations were approved in the first eight months of the year, and the average wait rose from roughly six months in August 2025 to nearly 13 months a year later. Denials also fell (by 41%), which suggests the main problem is not that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is rejecting more people, but that it is deciding fewer cases.
USCIS’s own quarterly data, analyzed by Newsweek, points the same way: from April through June 2026 the agency approved 57,697 applications, versus 241,326 in the same quarter of 2025, and pending cases reached 742,138. In San Jose, California, approvals dropped more than 96%; in Houston, close to 50%. USCIS has not announced any general suspension of the citizenship process.
Why is my citizenship application taking longer?
There is no single cause, and the agency itself has not attributed the drop to one factor. What is documented is a series of changes since 2025 that lengthen every file:
- Closer scrutiny of “good moral character”: since August 2025, USCIS looks harder at taxes, criminal history, and conduct, and in September it brought back neighborhood investigations, with visits or interviews involving neighbors and coworkers.
- A new civics test: applicants who filed the N-400 on or after October 20, 2025, answer 20 questions from a bank of 128 and must get 12 right (it used to be 10 questions and 6 correct).
- Social media and English review: the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cites screening for “anti-American activities” and stricter English requirements.
- New fingerprint checks: since late April 2026, many pending cases require new fingerprints for expanded checks against FBI databases, which the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) says can stretch processing.
- Nationality holds: decisions for applicants from 39 countries deemed “high risk” were frozen until a federal court in Rhode Island struck down that policy on June 5, 2026; the restart has been gradual.
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that “naturalization is a privilege, not a right.” The National Partnership for New Americans argues instead that the figures reflect a strategy to limit access to citizenship. Either way, the practical result for you is the same: longer waits and tougher interviews.
What does this mean for your pending N-400?
First, what it does not mean: your application has not been denied because it is sitting in line, and waiting does not cost you your permanent residence. Your green card remains valid, and you can renew it if it expires during the process.
Second, what does change. Each stage may take longer than USCIS’s tools suggest, and you may receive a new biometrics appointment even if you already gave fingerprints, or a request for additional evidence. Attorney Alejandra Campos, founder of Campos Law Firm, stresses that no honest attorney can promise an oath ceremony date in this environment; what can be done is to make your file objection-proof.
Third, a real risk: an incomplete answer or an inconsistency between your N-400 and what you declared in earlier filings (travel, taxes, voter registration, arrests) can turn a delay into a denial or, in extreme cases, into denaturalization proceedings years later. Our immigration attorneys review exactly those inconsistencies before the interview.
How do you prepare for the citizenship interview under the new scrutiny?
- Gather five years of history: tax returns (or IRS transcripts), every trip outside the U.S. with exact dates, addresses, and jobs.
- Check your continuous residence: trips of six months or longer can break the requirement; if you took any, prepare an explanation and evidence.
- Verify your voting history: if you ever registered to vote or voted without being a citizen, do not hide it and get advice before the interview; it is one of the most sensitive grounds for denial.
- Study the right version of the test: the 2008 test if you filed before October 20, 2025; the 2025 test if you filed after.
- Keep your information current: changes of address, marital status, or criminal record must be reported to USCIS.
- Do not hire notarios or “consultants”: only an attorney or an accredited representative can give you legal advice.
Protect Your Immigration Status with Campos Law Firm
The drop in approvals is not a mass rejection, but it is a sign that every file is being read under a magnifying glass and that wait times depend on factors outside your control. What you do control is the quality of your application and your preparation.
If your N-400 is pending, you received an unexpected notice, or you are unsure whether you qualify, Campos Law Firm is here to help you. Do not leave your immigration status to chance. Call us today at +1 (844) 922-6767 to schedule a free, confidential consultation in English or Spanish. Campos Law Firm: Legal Solutions in All Areas of Law.
With information from The Washington Post, Newsweek, NPR, and The National Law Review.
