❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Trump administration is restoring updates to the U.S. citizenship test that were first made during the President’s initial term but later scrapped by the Biden-Harris government.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), immigrants applying for naturalization, and the Trump administration.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Announced on Wednesday, changes to the 2025 naturalization civics test are being implemented nationwide.
💬KEY QUOTE: “American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values and principles as a nation,” said USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser.
🎯IMPACT: The updated test aims to ensure applicants demonstrate a deeper knowledge of U.S. history and civics, aligning with the Trump administration’s focus on immigrants assimilating and contributing to society.
The U.S. citizenship test will undergo significant changes, with several updates restoring changes made during the first Trump administration that were removed by the former Biden-Harris government. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the updated “naturalization civics test better assesses applicants’ knowledge of U.S. history and government.”
During the first Trump administration, USCIS overhauled the 2008 version of the citizenship exam, aimed at ensuring immigrants seeking naturalization have a thorough understanding of U.S. history and civics. However, Joe Biden scrapped the changes in 2021 and reinstituted the weaker 2008 version of the test.
The new version, like the test in use in 2020, includes 128 possible questions, up from 100 in 2008. To pass, immigrants seeking naturalization must answer at least 12 out of 20 questions. The test administrator can halt the exam once an immigrant answers 12 questions correctly or nine questions incorrectly.
“American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values and principles as a nation,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said. “By ensuring only those aliens who meet all eligibility requirements, including the ability to read, write, and speak English and understand U.S. government and civics are able to naturalize, the American people can be assured that those joining us as fellow citizens are fully assimilated and will contribute to America’s greatness.”
Questions on the updated test guide include: “Name one thing the U.S. Constitution does,” “Name one war fought by the United States in the 1800s,” “Thomas Jefferson is famous for many things. Name one,” “Why did the United States enter World War I?” and “Name one example of an American innovation.”
The test remains an oral exam, and immigrants have two opportunities to pass. More than 94 percent of aliens passed the citizenship test in fiscal year 2024, according to USCIS.
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