Nigeria has ranked fourth among countries whose citizens were granted U.S. citizenship through military naturalization between 2020 and 2024.
This was disclosed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday, December, 9.
According to the data from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Monday, 3,270 Nigerian-born service members were granted U.S. citizenship, trailing only the Philippines (5,630), Jamaica (5,420), and Mexico with 3,670.
“Service members born in the Philippines, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and Ghana — the top five countries of birth among those naturalised — comprised over 38% of the naturalizations since FY 2020.
“The next five countries of birth — Haiti, China, Cameroon, Vietnam, and South Korea — comprised an additional 16% of military naturalisations from FY 2020 to FY 2024,” the analysis of the data partly read.
The data indicated that the number of Nigerian service members gaining U.S. citizenship has steadily increased in the past five years.
From 340 in 2020, the figure moved up to 630 the following year, 680 in 2022, 690 in 2023 and 930 in 2024.
The Army accounted for 60% of all military naturalisations during this period, ahead of the Navy (20.4%), Air Force (10.6%), and Marine Corps (6.6%).
“Service members from the Army (including National Guard and Reserves) comprised almost two-thirds (60%) of all military naturalisations from FY 2020 to FY 2024. Service members from the Coast Guard comprised less than 1%. The Navy accounted for 20.4%, the Air Force for 10.6%, and the Marine Corps for 6.6%,” it said.
“Half of all service members were between 22 and 30 years old when they naturalised. The median age of all service members who naturalised between FY 2020 and FY 2024 was 27. More than 17% were 21 and under, while almost 5% were older than 40.”
It noted that men comprised 73% of all service members naturalised between FY 2020 and FY 2024 and the proportion of female service members slightly increased across the years.
