US Citizenship Test

Citizenship is a status given to a legal member of the United States. Citizenship entails specific rights, duties, privileges and economic benefits including federal assistance. There are three ways in obtaining US citizenship.

- By birth in the United States
- Born abroad to US citizen parents
- Obtaining citizenship through naturalization

Naturalization is a process when a foreign born individual becomes a US citizen by his or her own eligibility. There are many requirements to obtain US citizenship through naturalization. One of the major requirements is the US citizenship test which includes both English language and Civics test. It is required by the immigration law that every individual must know the basics of history and government of United States and know to read, write and speak basic English.

Why is the US citizenship test necessary?

The citizenship test is a necessary step in the naturalization process. All the applicants for US Citizenship must pass the test for citizenship before taking the Oath of Allegiance to officially become US citizens. The USCIS conducts the test to find if the applicant can understand and appreciate what it means to be an American. The applicant must know the important governmental
principles, and must show a reasonable understanding of the history.

In the interview, an immigration officer will ask ten questions to the applicant. The applicant must answer six out of the ten questions correctly in order to pass the civics test of the naturalization process. Failure in the test might lead to the rejection of the application.

As there are 100 potential questions, all the applicants must have enough practice before going for the citizenship test. One can obtain study materials related to the civics and English language test to be well prepared to answer the questions correctly.

Even though the law requires that all applicants take the US citizenship test, there are exceptions for some people.

1.If the applicant is over 50 years of age and has been a permanent resident for periods totaling at least 20 years, he or she need not take the English test but is still required to take the Civics test in a language of the applicant's choice.

2. If the applicant is over 55 years of age and has been a permanent resident for periods totaling at least 15 years, he or she need not take the English test but is still required to take the Civics test in a language of the applicant's choice.

3. If the applicant is over 65 years of age and has been a permanent resident for periods totaling at least 20 years, he or she need not take the English test but will have to take the Civics test in a language of his or her choice. This test will be a simpler version and the applicant will be asked about 10 questions out of a list of 25.

4.If the applicant has medically determinable physical or mental impairment, where the impairment affects the ability to learn English and Civics, then the applicant is eligible for an exception. The applicant must file Form N-648 requesting an exception and this must be filed along with the application.