A study explores methods to improve naturalization rates among US immigrants. Most US immigrants, when surveyed, say they hope to become citizens, yet the United States has lower naturalization rates than Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Jens Hainmueller and colleagues examined the effect of policy interventions on naturalization application rates among low-income lawful permanent residents (LPRs) in New York State. Participants ages 18 years and older registered with a public/private naturalization program between July and September 2016. In the study, 863 participants with household incomes between 150% and 300% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines were entered into a lottery to receive a voucher to pay for the naturalization application fee. Participants who received a voucher were twice as likely to apply for naturalization as those who did not. Another 1,760 participants who had incomes below 150% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines, and therefore qualified for an application fee waiver, were randomly assigned to receive various low-cost behavioral "nudges" designed to encourage participants to apply for naturalization and seek free application assistance. Application rates among those receiving any of the nudges did not differ significantly from those who did not receive a nudge. The results suggest that the application fee is a significant obstacle to naturalization for many low-income LPRs, but that the poorest immigrants face additional challenges that low-cost interventions cannot easily overcome, according to the authors.
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Article #17-14254: "A randomized controlled design reveals barriers to citizenship for low-income immigrants," by Jens Hainmueller et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jens Hainmueller, Stanford University, CA; e-mail: jhain@stanford.edu
Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences