A total of 342 persons born in Latvia became citizens of the United States during fiscal year 2010, according to statistics recently released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Of those, nearly a quarter—85 persons—lived in the New York City metropolitan area. The Chicago area, with 33 naturalizations, ranked second for former citizens of Latvia.

However, in a breakdown by states, California with 48 persons ranked second after New York with 77 naturalizations among former Latvian residents.

The total reflects the third year of decline in the number of Latvian residents who have become naturalized U.S. citizens. In fiscal year 2008, a total of 455 persons from Latvia became U.S citizens, while in 2009 the number dropped to 404.

In all, nearly 620,000 persons became naturalized U.S. citizens last year, according to the DHS data.

Last year 185 persons from Estonia also became U.S. citizens, as did 843 from Lithuania.