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Citizenship Test

During your citizenship interview you will be tested on your abilities in the English language as well as the history and government of the United States. For someone unfamiliar with the United States this portion of the process may present quite the challenge. Fortunately there are a variety of educational resources available to immigrants who wish to take the citizenship test.

Along with online study guides there are programs available in communities throughout the United States that assist in educating future United States Citizens. These programs can come in the form of study groups or classes and if you are concerned with passing this requirement you should consider entering one of these programs.

The English Test for Citizenship:

The part of the test that examines your proficiency in the English language comes in three parts:

• The speaking portion of the test will occur over the course of your interview as your interviewer incidentally examines your ability to express yourself with the English language while you answer other questions.
• You will be asked to write up to three sentences in order to demonstrate your ability to write in English. What the USCIS officer is looking for is just one sentence that can be easily understood. Keep in mind that a sentence is defined as a series of words that contains a noun, which is a word that names a person, place or thing, and a verb, which is a word that describes some sort of action toward a noun.
• You must also be able to read one sentence out of three that demonstrates to the USCIS officer that you are capable of reading the English language. This particular requirement won't be a problem for you if you can read this sentence.

The United States Government believes that if you happen to have a disability that affects your ability to learn English you will be excused from the English test. However, this will not excuse you from being able to pass the Civics test.

Other reasons for why you might be excused:

• The 50/20 exception: If you are 50 years or older and you have been living in the United States for 20 years at the time of filing you do not have to take the English test, but you must take the Civics test.
• The 55/15 exception: If you are 55 years or older and you have been living in the United States for 15 years at the time of filing you do not have to take the English test, but you must take the Civics test.
• If you qualify for one of the exceptions you must bring an interpreter (and the proper form for his or her presence) to the interview.
• However, if you are proficient enough in English to take the civics test in English, you must do so.

The Civics Test for Citizenship:

Civics is the study of the history and government of the United States and every naturalized citizen is expected to be satisfactorily familiar with this information.

The test has a total of 100 questions of which ten are randomly selected for you to answer. You will need to correctly answer six of these questions in order to be awarded your citizenship.

Here is some information you should be familiar with for the Civics test:

• Why did the Revolutionary occur?
• What were the original 13 colonies?
• France sold what territory to the United States in the very early 19^th century?
• What are the rights enumerated in the first amendment?
• What is the concept of checks and balances?

This is not a comprehensive list of things you should know, so it is important to familiarize yourself with other aspects of the United States government and history.