- Cleveland advocates say citizenship ceremonies nearly disappeared as fewer applicants reach the oath stage under Trump policies.
- National naturalization adjudications fell from 78,379 to 37,832 by January 2026, while older backlogs kept growing.
- USCIS raised scrutiny with a new civics test and proposed higher N-400 fees plus no fee waivers.
Immigrant advocates say citizenship ceremonies have nearly disappeared in Cleveland as fewer applicants move through the naturalization pipeline under Trump policies.
Gail Breslow, executive director of Project Citizenship, said some applicants had waited more than eight months after the federal government froze immigration actions for people from 39 countries it labeled “high-risk.” The freeze included naturalization proceedings, she said.
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“It’s no secret that USCIS is slow-walking applications for citizenship and so much more.”
Breslow said the delay was “a transparent effort to discourage people from making America their home.” The local account described fewer applicants being scheduled for oath events, rather than a formal end to them.
The report did not give a Cleveland-specific ceremony count. It linked the local decline to the broader pattern as naturalizations slow across the federal system.
USCIS decisions fell while the older backlog grew
National figures cited in the reporting show a steep reduction in monthly naturalization decisions. The figures came from the National Foundation for American Policy.
| Measure | Earlier figure | Later figure |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly naturalization adjudications | 78,379 in September 2025 | 37,832 by January 2026 |
| Monthly naturalization processing | 83,317 in May 2024 | 20,795 in May 2026 |
| Pending cases older than six months | 198,235 in January 2026 | 441,362 by May 2026 |
The backlog more than doubled in the second comparison. Older cases reached 441,362 by May 2026.
Those figures describe the national system, not Cleveland alone. They offer context for the local reports of fewer people reaching the oath stage.
The test and review process also changed
USCIS changed the civics test for applications filed on or after October 20, 2025. Applicants must now answer 12 of up to 20 questions correctly from an expanded pool of 128 questions.
The agency also reintroduced “neighborhood investigations” into naturalization adjudications. That additional review can add scrutiny before an applicant reaches an interview or oath ceremony.
The changes affect the path before the ceremony. They do not themselves establish that Cleveland ended its oath events.
A proposed fee rule could raise the cost of applying
The Department of Homeland Security proposed higher naturalization fees in a rule published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2026.
| Filing method or request | Current figure cited | Proposed figure cited |
|---|---|---|
Form N-400 online filing | $710 | $1,280 |
Form N-400 paper filing | $760 | $1,330 |
The proposal would also sharply increase fees for Form N-336, used to request a hearing on a naturalization decision. It would eliminate fee waivers and reduced fees for low-income applicants.
The new amounts remain part of a proposal. They are not the same as a final fee schedule.
Applicants may wait longer before the oath
Applicants may encounter longer waits for interviews and oath ceremonies where USCIS has slowed scheduling or increased scrutiny. The same process now combines a harder civics exam with possible extra investigation.
That combination can leave lawful permanent residents weighing timing, cost and delay before filing. The system is more expensive and slower than in prior years, according to the cited reporting.
The Cleveland account placed the local changes alongside that national slowdown. It did not establish how many ceremonies the city held before the decline or how many remain now.
