A boom in citizenship requests

Driven by post-9/11 uncertainty - including the mixed feelings of vulnerability in and solidarity with their new homeland - immigrants across the US are rushing to apply for citizenship.

Applications for naturalization in October and November were up 61 percent over the same period last year, the most recent Immigration and Naturalization data show. The rate of increase rivals the wave of citizenship applications during World War II, an era reflecting some of the same tensions and emotions the nation faces now.

"I suspect for every generation of immigrants, there is this moment of truth when something big happens. Something that gives them an opportunity to reflect on just how American they've become," says Cecilia Muñoz, vice president for policy at the National Council of La Raza in Washington. "They ask themselves, 'Do we go back to where we came from or do we stay?' That's when they realize that this is their home now - that they feel truly American - and move to make it official."

José Vega, a Houston immigration attorney, vouches for that.

"Right after Sept. 11, there was kind of a lull. But then everybody kind of woke up and realized what was going on," he says. "People are worried."

Before 9/11 he may have gotten one call per week from someone asking about the citizenship application process. Today, he receives at least one call a day.

Applications for citizenship stood at 145,765 for October and November of 2001 - compared with the 90,741 filed during the same two months in 2000. But even more striking is just the month of November 2001, when the numbers showed a 99 percent increase over the previous November. Data for December and January are not yet available.

While there is no section on the application that asks why a person applies, INS officials speculate that there are several reasons for the increase.

"Traditionally, we see in times of national crisis a sharpening in the recognition of the difference between citizens and immigrants, and a greater recognition of what citizenship really means," says Russ Bergeron, an INS spokesman in Washington. "So it's not surprising to see a large number of people motivated to apply right now."

MR. BERGERON and his colleagues are hearing that some immigrants are motivated by patriotism or want to be fully engaged in the American political process. Others see citizenship as a protection in troubled times when immigrants often become scapegoats.

"It's a combination of patriotic fervor and insecurity of non-citizens," says Mark Krikorian, of the Washington-based Center for Immigration Studies. "Arabs are not the only immigrants right now that feel that it might be a good idea to become a citizen and dispel Americans' concerns about their loyalties."

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