The coronavirus pandemic has affected many parts of life — even how people become new US citizens. Now, instead of taking the oath alongside other immigrants, some new citizens are going through drive-throughs, rolling down their car window while a masked official administers the oath at a distance. But these ceremonies are only slowly chipping away at a massive citizenship application backlog. And the ceremonies may stop altogether, at least temporarily, as US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency in charge of this work, faces a budget crisis.
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