CUBA · UNITED STATES · CITIZENSHIP
Key Facts
- —The country Cuba, 90 miles from Florida, has a large diaspora in South Florida, where many applicants wait for US citizenship.
- —Why it matters Only sworn-in citizens can vote, and long waits can keep new Americans out of the midterms.
- —Why now A newspaper report on federal data, published Friday 23 October 2026, put the drop at 72%.
- —What happened Approvals fell 72% in the first eight months of 2026, and the backlog passed 800,000.
- —What it means for you Applicants, including Cubans, face waits near 13 months, and some may miss the 3 November vote.
- —Still open How many Cubans are affected, which national figures do not show, and whether processing speeds up.
- —Power Index Cuba ranks 14th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 22.5 points (October 2026 edition).
US citizenship approvals fell 72% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, according to a Washington Post report published on Friday 23 October 2026. Cuban green card holders, many of them in South Florida, are among those waiting in a backlog of more than 800,000 applications, although no national figure shows how many Cubans are affected.
The timing matters to US readers because only citizens who have taken the oath can vote, and the midterm elections fall on Tuesday 3 November 2026. An approved application does not make someone a citizen until the oath ceremony, so a delayed ceremony can leave an eligible applicant without a vote.
Our report that Cuban green card approvals fell to 139 in April to June 2026 showed a different route narrowing in the same quarter. This article covers the last step, naturalization, where the same agency, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is deciding far fewer cases.
In Plain English
- Naturalization: the legal process that turns a green card holder into a US citizen.
- N-400: the form a green card holder files to apply for citizenship.
- Approval versus oath: an approved applicant becomes a citizen only after taking the oath at a ceremony.
- Backlog: applications received but not yet decided.
- Denial: a decision that rejects the application; denials are counted separately from approvals.
US Citizenship Approvals Fall 72% in Eight Months
The newspaper report, relayed by Periódico Cubano and Hindustan Times, puts the pending backlog above 800,000, up from about 500,000 when the second Trump term began in January 2025. Periódico Cubano adds that USCIS approved about 173,000 naturalization applications between January and August 2026, a sharp fall from the same months of 2025.
Average waits stretched from around six months in August 2025 to nearly 13 months a year later, according to the same report. Denials also fell, by 41%, so the drop reflects fewer decisions overall rather than more rejections.
Newsweek’s analysis of USCIS quarterly data for April to June 2026 found 57,697 approvals, against 241,326 in the same quarter of 2025 and 218,720 in 2024. By our arithmetic the 2026 quarter is about 76% below 2025, a steeper fall than the 72% for the first eight months.
A separate tracker from the Niskanen Center, a US policy research group, shows USCIS completed 20,674 naturalization cases in July 2026, against 80,077 in July 2025. The same tracker puts the average for January to July 2026 at 27,077 cases a month, compared with 86,044 a year earlier.
Niskanen also found that the share of completed cases ending in denial doubled, from 10% in July 2025 to more than 20% in July 2026. Completed cases include both approvals and denials, so the tracker’s totals are not directly comparable with the approval counts above.
Why Cuban Green Card Holders Are Watching
Representative María Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, wrote to the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year that final decisions for nationals of designated high-risk countries, including Cuba and Venezuela, had been on hold since December 2025. She said tens of thousands of applicants in South Florida, many of them Cuban and Venezuelan, were stuck in limbo.
USCIS later told Salazar in a letter dated 16 July that a federal court in Rhode Island had struck down the internal memos behind the holds on 5 June, and that it had begun lifting the restrictions. Diario de las Américas reported the letter on 23 July, and USCIS said work on Cuban and Venezuelan applications would resume as that process advances.
CiberCuba also reported that Cubans who won residency in 2022 and 2023 are now nearing the five years of residence usually required to apply for citizenship. That could add new applicants to a queue that is already long, although the sources do not give a count.
Periódico Cubano cautions that available national statistics do not show how many Cuban applicants are affected. Reactivating cases in July, it adds, does not guarantee a quick decision.
What the Government and Critics Say
The Department of Homeland Security told Newsweek that it had moved away from what it called rubber-stamping of applications under the Biden administration. A spokesperson listed a restored 2020 civics test, stronger English requirements, social media screening and good moral character checks, and said, “Naturalization is a privilege, not a right.”
Nicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans, told Newsweek the figures look like a strategy to limit access to citizenship and civic participation. Asked about the accusation of deliberate delay, DHS answered that it is reinforcing screening and vetting.
Lawyers consulted for the newspaper report, as relayed by Periódico Cubano, question the size of the delays and say the new requirements are lengthening cases of people who already qualify. CiberCuba adds that a fingerprint re-check begun at the end of April 2026 paused some cases, and cites an estimate from the American Immigration Lawyers Association that it could lengthen processing by 46%.
What It Means for You
A green card holder with a pending N-400 can check the case status online and meet every deadline. Periódico Cubano notes that section 336(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act lets an applicant ask a federal court to act if USCIS has not decided within 120 days of the citizenship exam, although a lawsuit does not guarantee approval and legal fees can be high.
For US readers, the numbers show how a quiet administrative slowdown can shape who votes on 3 November, as our guide What Are the 2026 US Midterms and Who Is Ahead? explains. Newsweek cites 2024 Pew Research Center data that 55% of naturalized voters lived in Florida, Texas, California and New York, so delays matter most in those states.
Readers who want the wider Cuba picture can start with Who Runs Cuba’s Economy, the Key Players in 2026 and Cuba Geopolitics 2026: Who Backs Havana, Who Presses It. Those living in or moving to South Florida can find local context in our Miami expat city guide.
What Is Not Known
The newspaper report itself could not be opened for this article, so its figures come from Periódico Cubano and Hindustan Times, which agree on the 72%, the backlog and the wait, while only Periódico Cubano gives the 173,000 approvals. Newsweek and Niskanen draw on USCIS data and point the same way, but the agency’s own data pages were not reachable from our systems.
Counts differ by source, with a backlog above 800,000 in the newspaper report, about 778,000 for July in CiberCuba’s reading of agency data and 742,138 for the end of June in Newsweek’s. CiberCuba gives 727,371 for that same June date, and the sources do not explain the gap.
It is not known how many of those waiting are Cuban, how many will miss the 3 November election, or whether the fall reflects policy, staffing or the fingerprint re-check. DHS says its changes strengthen screening, while critics’ claims of deliberate suppression remain allegations, not findings.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did US citizenship approvals fall in 2026?
Approvals fell 72% in the first eight months of 2026 compared with the same period of 2025, according to a newspaper analysis. About 173,000 applications were approved between January and August.
Is the US rejecting 72% of citizenship applications?
No, denials also fell, by 41%, so fewer cases are being decided overall. CiberCuba’s reading of USCIS data for April to June 2026 shows 57,697 approvals and 12,842 denials.
Are Cubans affected by the citizenship slowdown?
Cuban green card holders can be affected, and Cuba was among the countries whose final decisions were put on hold in December 2025. USCIS told Representative Salazar in July that it was lifting those holds, but no figure shows how many Cubans are waiting.
Can a green card holder vote in the midterms?
No, only citizens can vote in federal elections, and an approved applicant must take the oath first. The midterm elections are on Tuesday 3 November 2026.
What can an applicant do about long delays?
Applicants can check their case status online and, after 120 days without a decision following the exam, ask a federal court to act under section 336(b). A lawsuit does not guarantee approval, so an immigration attorney should advise.
Sources: Periódico Cubano, 23 October 2026 (relaying the Washington Post report); Hindustan Times, 24 October 2026; Newsweek, 23 October 2026; Niskanen Center legal immigration tracker, August 2026 update; CiberCuba, 3 October 2026; Diario de las Américas, 23 July 2026; Representative Salazar’s office, letter to DHS.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief