3, 270 Nigerians Gained U.S. Citizenship Through Military Naturalisation From 2022 – 2024

Nigeria ranked fourth among countries whose citizens are in the U S military and as such have been granted citizenship through military naturalization.

Statistics from the U S Citizenship and Immigration Services shows that since 2002, more than 187,000 members of the U.S. military, both at home and abroad have been naturalized.

Naturalization ceremonies have taken place in more than 30 countries from Albania to the United Arab Emirates.² In the last five years (fiscal years 2020 – 2024), we have naturalized more than 52,000 service members. In FY 2024, we naturalized more than 16,290 service members, a 34% increase from the previous year

Approvals by Fiscal Year (2020 – 2024)

Countries of Birth

Service members born in the Philippines, Jamaica, Mexico, Nigeria, and Ghana — the top five countries of birth among those naturalized — 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 naturalizations from FY 2020 to FY 2024. 

Age

Half of all service members were between 22 and 30 years old when they naturalized. The median age of all service members who naturalized between FY 2020 to FY 2024 was 27 years old. More than 17% were 21 and under when they naturalized. Almost 5% were older than 40 when they naturalized. 

Age at Naturalization (FY 2020 – FY 2024)

Branch of Service

Service members from the Army (including National Guard and Reserves) comprised almost two-thirds (60%) of all military naturalizations from FY 2020 to FY 2024. Service members from the Coast Guard comprised less than 1% of military naturalizations from FY 2020 to FY 2024.³

Branch of Military at Naturalization (FY 2020 – FY 2024)

Source: USCIS, CLAIMS 4 and ELIS. Data as of October 2024.

This data is an indication that a lot of Nigerians are migrating to other countries where they render essential services