US Rejects over 12,000 American Citizenship Applications in 3 Months, Releases Details

New USCIS data covering April to June 2026 revealed that 12,591 Form N-400 naturalisation applications were denied in just one quarterThe denial rate among decided cases stood at 18.6%, meaning nearly one in five applicants who received a decision was turned awayA backlog of over 727,000 pending applications signals significant processing delays that affect Ghanaian and other diaspora applicantsPAY ATTENTION: Mark YEN.com.gh as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!

More than 12,000 people hoping to become American citizens were turned away in the space of three months, according to new figures from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

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Of the 140,179 applications that USCIS received during those three months, the agency approved 54,974 and denied 12,591, bringing the total number of decided cases to 67,565. The approval rate among decided applications sat at approximately 81.4%.

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The most significant figure in the dataset, however, is neither the approvals nor the denials. At the end of the quarter, 727,371 applications remained in a pending backlog, a number that far exceeds the combined total of approved and denied cases and points to considerable strain within the processing system.

The gap between cases received and cases decided during the period suggests the agency was unable to keep up with the volume of incoming applications.

For Ghanaian immigrants and others in the diaspora who are pursuing American citizenship, the figures highlight the uncertainty and difficulty that can accompany the naturalisation journey. Those whose applications fall into the denial category may have the option to re-file or, depending on the circumstances, seek a formal review of the outcome.

The sheer size of the pending queue also raises questions about wait times. With over 727,000 applications sitting unresolved, many applicants may have been waiting well beyond the quarter in question for any movement on their cases.

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USCIS has not issued a dedicated public statement addressing the denial figures for this quarter. The data forms part of the agency's standard statistical reporting, published on its official data portal.

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Jeffrey Owusu-Mensah (HOD Entertainment) Jeffrey is the Head of the Entertainment Desk and a graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) with over 15 years of experience in journalism. He started as a reporter with Ghana News Agency (GNA). He joined Primnewsghana.com in 2016 as an editor. He moved to YEN.com.gh in 2017 as an editor and has risen to his current position. You can contact him via e-mail: j.owusu-mensah@yen.com.gh