American Civics Test

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Local libraries may offer free resources to help naturalization applicants prepare for the American Civics Test Los Angeles Public Library New Americans Initiative Opportunity Community Trust Citizenship self-serve information kiosk photographed 2023.jpg
Local libraries may offer free resources to help naturalization applicants prepare for the American Civics Test

The American Civics Test (also known as the American Citizenship Test, U.S. Civics Test, U.S Citizenship Test, and U.S. Naturalization Test) is an oral examination that is administered to immigrants who are applying for U.S. citizenship. The test is designed to assess the applicants' knowledge of U.S. history and government. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers the test as part of the naturalization process. [1]

Contents

History

The Basic Naturalization Act, passed by Congress on June 29, 1906, established the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, which oversaw national standardization of citizenship procedures. [2] Prior to the 1906 law, naturalization was under the jurisdiction of the courts (municipal, county, state, or federal), where petitioners could go to the most convenient location and procedures varied. [3] Because there was no explicit requirement to administer a test on American civics as part of the naturalization process, testing was left to the judge's discretion. [4]

During the Bureau of Naturalization's early years of operation, concerns were raised about immigrants being denied citizenship due to a lack of knowledge of American civics and history, so the bureau established education programs to combat the problem, but no standardized test or testing procedure was developed. [4] As a result, courts continued to administer tests with no specific list of questions. The history of the test questions is difficult to document as they were given orally and were usually impromptu.

However, reforms were implemented in 1933 by the newly consolidated Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). [5] Rather than memorizing simple trivial facts, changes were made to ensure that test takers had a meaningful understanding of US history and civics. [4] [5] Years later, on March 1, 2003, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) was established and took over all responsibility for immigration service functions previously managed by the INF. [6] Following a thorough investigation, it was discovered that the INS lacked standard test content, instruments, protocols, and even a scoring system for the naturalization process. Although the INS began combating these issues in 2001, the Department of Homeland Security suggested reforms to the citizenship test procedures under the newly established USCIS in 2005. [7] The current version of the civics exam became a requirement of the naturalization process on October 1, 2008.

Naturalization

Testing procedures

The civics test is part of the naturalization process for applicants seeking US citizenship. The test is prepared in English (with exceptions) and is administered orally by a USCIS officer who asks up to 10 of the 100 civics questions. Special considerations are given to applicants who demonstrate need. [8] The questions cover a wide range of topics, including the principles of American democracy, the functions of the different branches of government, and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens.

The test questions are in 3 major categories. [9]

American Government:

American History:

Integrated Civics:

Over recent years, two types of tests were made:

Civics test (2008 version)

The 2008 civics test is an oral exam, and the USCIS officer will ask up to 10 questions from a list of 100 civics test questions. To pass the 2008 civics exam, applicants must correctly answer six questions. [10] From March 2021 to the present this is the version in use in the country. [11]

Civic test (2020 version)

The 2020 civics test is an oral exam, and the USCIS officer will ask up to 20 of the 128 civics test questions. To pass the 2020 civics exam, applicants must correctly answer at least 12 questions. [12] In February 2021 this version of the test was abolished by President Joe Biden. [13]

Due to recent policy changes, knowing which exam will be administered is dependent on when the application was submitted. Applicants who submitted their applications on or after December 1, 2020, and before March 1, 2021, with an interview scheduled before April 19, 2021, may have the option to take the 2008 or 2020 test version. [11]

Accommodations

65/20 special consideration

If the applicant is 65 years old or older and has been living in the United States as a lawful permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, they may only study for 20 select questions marked with an asterisk. They may also take the civics test in the language of their choice. [10]

Disability waiver

Applicants seeking naturalization are expected to be literate in the English language as well as understand the fundamental principles of the history and government of the United States. Applicants with physical, developmental, and/or mental disabilities that last 12 months or more may be exempt from this requirement by completing a medical exemption form provided by USCIS. Only a medical doctor can verify and certify the information on the form. [14]

English language exemption

The civics test can be taken in a non-English language requested by the applicant as part of the naturalization interview if:

- 50/20: you filed the application when you were 50 years of age or older and lived in U.S. for 20 years or more as a lawful permanent resident with green card.
- 55/15: you filed the application when you were 55 years of age or older and lived in U.S. for 15 years or more as a lawful permanent resident with green card.
- 65/20: you filed the application when you were 65 years of age or older and lived in U.S. for 20 years or more as a lawful permanent resident with green card. [15]

Controversy

On December 1, 2020, USCIS adopted a revised version of the 2008 civics test. This came after a decennial review during President Donald Trump's administration. [16] The revised 2020 version increased the number of questions while making the wording more difficult for non-native English speakers. [17] Many of the standards and accommodations were also modified, such as raising the application fee [18] and expanding requirements for disabled applicants. [19] To that end, immigration organizations warned that the test revision would make it harder for poor immigrants from non-English-speaking countries to become voting citizens. [17] Although a copy of the test and its answers are made available online, advocates worry about more disadvantaged applicants' ability to understand more nuanced questions. [20] Critics of the new test believe it is designed to add an unnecessary barrier to naturalization. [21] However, this policy has been reversed in compliance with an executive order signed by President Joe Biden on February 2, 2021, [13] which reinstates the 2008 civics test as the standard basis for all test questions. [22]

Resources and initiatives

USCIS study guides

USCIS provides free study materials which includes sample test question of both the 2020 and 2008 civics test version, although the 2008 version is in use within interviews. [23] The agency is currently exploring ways to revamp the civics test, with the help of national engagements for feedback and comments on the proposed changes. The test will go through a trial phase for about five months in 2023. [24] In the meantime, applicants preparing for the civics test should study the questions in accordance with the current policy applicable to their application case.

American civics in education

In January 2015, Arizona became the first state in the United States to require high school students to pass a civics test before graduation. [25] The law, signed by Governor Doug Ducey, requires high school students to correctly answer 60 of 100 questions on a test similar to the one new citizens must pass during naturalization. Governor Ducey believes that requiring the civics test in schools would improve civic and political engagement in the country. [26] Advocates like the Arizona-based Joe Foss Institute have set a goal of having all 50 states pass similar legislation by 2017, the 230th anniversary of the United States Constitution. [27] However, only 20 states had followed suit as of 2019. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naturalization</span> Process by which a non-national in a country acquires after birth the nationality of that country

Naturalization is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the United Nations excludes citizenship that is automatically acquired or is acquired by declaration. Naturalization usually involves an application or a motion and approval by legal authorities. The rules of naturalization vary from country to country but typically include a promise to obey and uphold that country's laws and taking and subscribing to an oath of allegiance, and may specify other requirements such as a minimum legal residency and adequate knowledge of the national dominant language or culture. To counter multiple citizenship, some countries require that applicants for naturalization renounce any other citizenship that they currently hold, but whether this renunciation actually causes loss of original citizenship, as seen by the host country and by the original country, will depend on the laws of the countries involved.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green card</span> Lawful permanent residency in the United States

A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. Green card holders are formally known as lawful permanent residents (LPRs). As of 2019, there are an estimated 13.9 million green card holders, of whom 9.1 million are eligible to become United States citizens. Approximately 18,700 of them serve in the U.S. Armed Forces.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oath of Allegiance (United States)</span> Official oath of allegiance in the U.S

The Oath of Allegiance of the United States is the official oath of allegiance that must be taken and subscribed by every immigrant who wishes to become a United States citizen.

Dual intent is a concept in United States immigration law. Typically, it refers to the fact that certain U.S. visas allow foreigners to be temporarily present in the U.S. with lawful status and immigrant intent. This allows those visa holders to enter the U.S. while simultaneously seeking lawful permanent resident status at a port of entry. Otherwise, visa holders may be presumed to have immigrant intent and can be kept from entry as a matter of law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parole (United States immigration)</span> Official permission to enter and remain temporarily in the U.S.

Parole, in the immigration laws of the United States, generally refers to official permission to enter and remain temporarily in the United States, under the supervision of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), without formal admission, and while remaining an applicant for admission.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which was dissolved by the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and replaced by three components within the DHS: USCIS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Visa policy of the United States</span> Policy on permits required to enter the United States and its unincorporated territories

Visitors to the United States must obtain a visa from one of the U.S. diplomatic missions unless they are citizens of one of the visa-exempt or Visa Waiver Program countries.

Temporary protected status (TPS) is given by the United States government to eligible nationals of designated countries, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, who are present in the United States. In general, the Secretary of Homeland Security may grant temporary protected status to people already present in the United States who are nationals of a country experiencing ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster, or any temporary or extraordinary conditions that would prevent the foreign national from returning safely and assimilating into their duty. Temporary protected status allows beneficiaries to live and, in some cases, work in the United States for a limited amount of time. As of March 2022, there are more than 400,000 foreign nationals in Temporary Protected Status.

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Premium Processing Service is an optional premium service offered by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to employers filing Form I-129 or Form I-140. To avail of the service, the employer needs to file Form I-907 and include a fee that is $1,500 for the H-2B and R classifications and $2,500 for all others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Form N-400</span>

Form N-400 is used to apply for US citizenship through the naturalization process. Lawful permanent residents of the United States, who meet the eligibility requirements, can file N-400 form to request citizenship. In the United States, 8.8 million Lawful Permanent Residents are eligible to naturalize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Form I-130</span>

Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative is a form submitted to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services by a United States citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident petitioning for an immediate or close relative intending to immigrate to the United States. It is one of numerous USCIS immigration forms. As with all USCIS petitions, the person who submits the petition is called the petitioner and the relative on whose behalf the petition is made is called the beneficiary. The USCIS officer who evaluates the petition is called the adjudicator.

The Legal Immigration Family Equity Act of 2000, also known as the LIFE Act and as the Legal Immigration and Family Equity Act, along with its Amendments, made some changes to laws surrounding immigration for family members of United States citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents, as well as people eligible for employment-based immigrant visas, in the direction of making it easier for family members and immigrant workers to move to and adjust status within the United States. It was passed on December 21, 2000, as title XI of Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law  106–553 (text)(PDF).

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is a special way for minors currently in the United States to adjust status to that of Lawful Permanent Resident despite unauthorized entry or unlawful presence in the United States, that might usually make them inadmissible to the United States and create bars to Adjustment of Status. The key criterion for SIJS is abuse, neglect, or abandonment by one or both parents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements</span>

Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) is a program managed by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), a branch of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). SAVE facilitates lookups on the immigration and nationality status of individuals in the United States. It is an intergovernmental initiative designed to help federal, state, tribal, and local government agencies, or by a contractor acting on the agency's behalf, to determine eligibility for benefits, licenses or grants, government credentials, or to conduct background investigations. It is one of two programs that uses the Verification Information System (VIS). The other program is the Electronic Employment Eligibility Verification Program, also known as E-Verify, and is used by employers to verify the immigration status of employees. For additional verification, SAVE relies on the Person Centric Query System (PCQS).

The Central American Minors (CAM) Refugee and Parole Program is a U.S. refugee and parole program established in November 2014 by the Obama administration. It is a refugee protection and family reunification pathway on which several thousand families rely and for which tens of thousands more families are technically eligible. The CAM Program was designed to permit certain children and other eligible family members to escape life-threatening danger and other humanitarian crises and to reunite with parents or relatives in the United States. This program provides certain qualified parents and legal guardians to apply for their children and other eligible family members, who are nationals of and physically present in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, to come to the United States as refugees or parolees. The CAM Program has been operational from 2014 to 2017-18 when it was terminated over a series of actions; and from 2021 to the present, when it was restarted in two phases, first for some previously closed cases and then for new applications. To date, most CAM Program beneficiaries have been Salvadoran families of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders, making up 86 percent of applicants from the 2014–2017. Since the Biden administration restarted the CAM Program for new applications, the CAM Program has had expanded eligibility criteria, including parents and guardians with pending asylum applications or U visa petitions, which should enable many more Guatemalans and Hondurans to apply.

Federal policy oversees and regulates immigration to the United States and citizenship of the United States. The United States Congress has authority over immigration policy in the United States, and it delegates enforcement to the Department of Homeland Security. Historically, the United States went through a period of loose immigration policy in the early-19th century followed by a period of strict immigration policy in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Policy areas related to the immigration process include visa policy, asylum policy, and naturalization policy. Policy areas related to illegal immigration include deferral policy and removal policy.

References

  1. ↑ U. S. Citizen and Immigration Services (March 3, 2022). "The Naturalization Interview and Test | USCIS". U. S. Citizen and Immigration Services. Retrieved 2022-03-10.
  2. ↑ "H.R. 15442 (report no. 1789), in the House of Representatives ; Bill to establish a Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, and to provide for a uniform rule for the naturalization of aliens throughout the United States ; H.R. 15442 (report no. 1789), a bill to establish a Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, and to provide for a uniform rule for the naturalization of aliens throughout the United States ; February 22, 1906, Mr. Howell, of New Jersey, introduced the following bill, which was referred to the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization and ordered to be printed : February 26, 1906, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed : a bill to establish a Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, and to provide for a uniform rule for the naturalization of aliens throughout the United States". Immigration to the United States, 1789-1930 - CURIOSity Digital Collections. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  3. ↑ "Naturalization Records". National Archives. 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  4. 1 2 3 "Origins of the Naturalization Civics Test | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. 2020-09-02. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
  5. 1 2 "Naturalization Process in U.S.: Early History". Social Welfare History Project. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  6. ↑ "Our History | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  7. ↑ Letter report: Citizenship Test Redesign Archived May 13, 2017, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ↑ "The Naturalization Interview and Test | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. 2021-09-16. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  9. ↑ "Components of the Naturalization Test" (PDF). U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
  10. 1 2 "Study for the Test (2008 version) | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  11. 1 2 "U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is Reverting to the 2008 Version of the Naturalization Civics Test | Homeland Security". www.dhs.gov. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  12. ↑ "Study for the Test (2020 version) | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. 2022-04-13. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  13. 1 2 U. S. Government Publishing Office. (February 2, 2021). "Executive Order 14012 Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans" (PDF). Govinfo.
  14. ↑ "USCIS Form N-648, Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions" (PDF). Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  15. ↑ https://usahello.org/citizenship/prepare/citizenship-test-exemptions/. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  16. ↑ "Memorandum: Revision of the Naturalization Civics Test" (PDF). U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services.
  17. 1 2 Romero, R. &, Jordan, M. (December 3, 2020). "New U.S. Citizenship test is longer and more difficult". New York Times.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Alvarez, Priscilla (2020-11-10). "Trump administration's revisions to the naturalization exam could make the test harder for immigrants seeking citizenship | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  19. ↑ Kim, Juliana (2022-10-25). "U.S. removes Trump-era barriers to citizenship-test waivers for disabled immigrants". NPR. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  20. ↑ "Trump officials unveil new U.S. citizenship test, as advocates worry it is too long, difficult and politicized". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved 2022-12-15.
  21. ↑ Lubet, Steven. "Trump's New Citizenship Test Is Full of Conservative Bias—And Dotted With Mistakes". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-10-05.
  22. ↑ Sands, G. (February 22, 2021). "Biden administration rolls back Trump-era citizenship civics test". CNN.
  23. ↑ "Naturalization Test and Study Resources | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  24. ↑ "Naturalization Test Redesign Development 2022 | USCIS". www.uscis.gov. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  25. ↑ "State of Arizona H.B 2064; Relating To School Curricula" (PDF). Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  26. ↑ Crane, Steve (2017-02-28). "Ducey presses governors on need for civics education like Arizona's | Cronkite News". Cronkite News - Arizona PBS. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  27. ↑ "Arizona passes law requiring students to pass civics test - Yahoo News". 2016-03-05. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  28. ↑ Tom, Joyce. "Arizona raises civics education standards". The Center Square. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
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