More than 11,000 people will take oaths to become U.S. citizens at more than 195 naturalization ceremonies nationwide during the week of July Fourth, according to the Biden administration.
The figure is double the 5,500 new citizens the country welcomed at the 180 ceremonies at last year’s Fourth of July events.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will hold ceremonies at historical landmarks and national parks across the country between Friday, June 28, and Friday, July 5.
“At USCIS we are privileged to administer the Oath of Allegiance to thousands of new citizens during the Independence Day holiday,” USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou said in a statement Friday morning. “These new citizens add diversity and character to our great nation, and we are committed to helping all who are eligible to experience the freedoms and liberties we enjoy as U.S. citizens.”
The most well-known sites where ceremonies will take place this year include George Washington’s Mount Vernon residence in Virginia, Battleship New Jersey, Gateway Arch National Park in Missouri, and Fort Clatsop, Lewis & Clark National Historical Park in Oregon.
In fiscal 2023, which ran from October 2022 through September 2023, the United States welcomed 875,000 new citizens. Since fiscal 2024 began in October 2023, 589,400 immigrants have become U.S. citizens.
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White House Deputy Assistant to the President Blas Nunez-Neto will take part in the ceremony at Mount Vernon.
Those pledging allegiance to the U.S. have passed a federally administered citizenship test.
