Many immigrants in the United States seeking naturalization find themselves in uncertainty due to recent measures taken by the Trump administration.
In the United States, “the path to acquiring American citizenship through naturalization is becoming increasingly thorny,” notes El País. The newspaper has gathered testimonies from long-time Cuban immigrants in the country and specialized lawyers.
To obtain citizenship, immigrants with permanent residence for at least five years must successfully pass an exam to assess their knowledge of American history and institutions as well as their English skills.
In 2025, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented a new, more challenging version of the naturalization test. “It now consists of 128 questions instead of 100, and the number of questions asked during the oral interview has increased from 10 to 20 – previously, 6 correct answers were enough to pass, but now at least 12 are required,” El País points out.
The process also includes an investigation into the applicants’ backgrounds to “verify their right to stay, their morality, and their integration into American lifestyle.” Immigration service interviews with neighbors and employers are now more thorough. These adjustments are coupled with the suspension of all visa and naturalization requests from nationals of several countries considered “high-risk,” with the list continuously expanding.
Wilfredo Allen, a Miami-based lawyer, says that several of his clients had their interviews with USCIS agents or naturalization ceremonies postponed. The administration is also attempting to revoke the citizenship of some naturalized immigrants and end birthright citizenship for immigrant children born in the United States – measures that several federal judges have blocked.
All of these actions seem to be designed to “discourage naturalization and create an atmosphere of intimidation.” Since 2019, the number of naturalizations annually ranged from 800,000 to 900,000, “a trend that now clashes with the Trump administration’s policies,” emphasizes El País.
