Virginia and Maryland were two of the most popular states last year for foreign nationals who wanted to become U.S. citizens. The two states ranked among the top 10 for naturalizations, as Virginia placed seventh, with almost 30,000 newly minted U.S. citizens, and Maryland 10th, with about 23,000, according to an annual Department of Homeland Security report.

Neither state ranks in the top 10 in overall population, according to 2008 estimates from the U.S. Census.