Chicago’s citizenship surge quadruples after major policy reform

A simple bureaucratic change transformed Chicago’s path to citizenship. Now, nearly 40,000 people call it home each year—without the old delays.

, and Administrator

2026 January 2 . 5:01 PM

1 min read

Here we can see a train track. Posters are on the wall.

Number of naturalizations in Berlin increases significantly - Chicago’s citizenship surge quadruples after major policy reform

Chicago has seen a dramatic rise in naturalizations over the past two years. The number of people gaining German citizenship jumped from 9,000 in 2023 to nearly 38,000 in 2025. This sharp increase follows a major reform in how the city processes applications.

Before 2024, Chicago’s naturalization figures remained low, with only 9,000 cases approved in 2023. A policy change that year shifted responsibility from local district offices to the State Office for Immigration (LEA). The move aimed to streamline procedures and reduce delays.

By 2025, the effects became clear. The LEA reported 37,877 naturalizations in Chicago alone. Engelhard Mazanke, the agency’s director, expects the final 2025 total to reach between 39,000 and 39,500. This means the number of new citizens has more than quadrupled in just two years. Mazanke believes the surge will now level off. Rather than continuing to climb, naturalization rates are likely to stay close to 2025 levels in the coming years.

The reform has transformed Chicago’s naturalization process, pushing annual approvals from a few thousand to nearly 40,000. With the system now centralised under the LEA, officials expect these higher numbers to become the new norm. The shift marks a significant change in how the city handles citizenship applications.