USCIS Announces Changes to the Naturalization Exam

Publication date 
11/13/2020

WASHINGTON - The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) today announced plans to implement a revised version of the civics test. The agency first announced plans to revise the civics test in julio de 2019.

USCIS redesigned the exam as part of an update that occurs every ten years to ensure that it remains an instrument that comprehensively assesses applicants' knowledge of American history, government, and civic values.

The civics education test is administered to individuals applying for US citizenship and is one of the legal requirements for naturalization. Individuals applying for naturalization on or after December 1 will take the updated version of the exam. Those who apply before December 1, 2020, will take the current version of the exam.

"USCIS has worked diligently on the naturalization test review since 2018, relying on input from experts in the field of adult education to ensure this process is fair and transparent," said Joseph Edlow. , Acting Director of Policy for USCIS. “Naturalization allows immigrants to become fully established members of American society, with the same rights and responsibilities as citizens by birth, and providing a fair test that prepares naturalization applicants for these responsibilities is of the utmost importance. for our agency ”.

The updated exam includes more questions that test applicants' understanding of U.S. history and civics, consistent with legal requirements, and covers a variety of topics that give the applicant more opportunities to learn about states. United as part of the exam preparation process. The updated exam will not change the passing score, which will remain at 60%. Candidates must correctly answer 12 questions out of 20, to pass.

USCIS will maintain current guidelines for special considerations established by law for applicants who are 65 or older and who have at least 20 years of lawful permanent residence. These applicants will be asked ten questions and must correctly answer a minimum of six questions to pass.

Exam items and study guides can be found, Citizenship Resource Center on the USCIS website. Accordingly, USCIS has also updated the Policy Manual (PDF, 323.82 KB); Ask the Volume 12, Part E, English and Civics Tests and Exceptions, Chapter 2, English and Civics Test.

USCIS piloted the exam with community organizations and volunteers across the country in the summer of 2020. The data collected from this test was used to help USCIS make determinations on the language and grammatical structure of individual elements of the exam. , the linguistic and cognitive load assigned to each exam, and identify those elements to consider for applicants who are 65 years or older who have had LPR status for at least 20 years, and who have been granted special considerations under the law .