There are two ways to be a US citizen from birth. One — known as birthright citizenship — is to be born on US soil, including Puerto Rico, the Republic of Panama, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. The other is to be born to at least one parent with US citizenship. In 2019, citizens born into the status accounted for an estimated 86% of the population — or 283.3 million people.
Another estimated 23.2 million people were naturalized citizens, qualified applicants who obtained US citizenship later in life. About 761,901 immigrants naturalized in the 2018 fiscal year, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Here’s how naturalization works.
