People Seeking US Citizenship Face Tougher Test

People seeking U.S. citizenship¹ will now be required to take a longer and more complex test.

The test centers on civics, a study of the rights and duties of citizenship. There are now 128 subjects relating to American history and government for applicants³ to study before taking the test. There used to be 100 subjects.

The new test requires applicants to answer 20 questions instead of 10. To pass, individuals must answer 12 questions correctly, or 60 percent. This is the same pass rate as before.

The process of becoming a U.S. citizen is known as "naturalization." Passing the naturalization test is the final requirement for legal permanent residents - also known as green card holders⁴ - to become American citizens. A U.S. immigration official asks the applicant² the questions during a naturalization interview, one of the final steps in the process.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is the federal agency that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. Last year, it announced it was improving the naturalization test for the first time since 2008. The change became official last week. Anyone applying for U.S. naturalization after December 1, 2020, must take the new test version.

The USCIS's acting⁶ director, Ken⁷ Cuccinelli, said in July it was the agency's responsibility to improve and keep the test current in order to help new citizens "fully⁸ understand the meaning of U.S. citizenship and the values that unite all Americans."

What's new

While many questions have not changed, some have been reworded and others will require additional explanation in the answers. For example, the former test asked, "There were 13 original states, name three." The new version states "There were 13 original states. Name five."

Instead of "What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?," an applicant must now answer, "What are three rights of everyone living in the United States?"

Some immigrant rights groups have criticized the new test, saying some questions were made more difficult without a clear reason to do so.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick is with the American Immigration Council. He raised concerns that some questions were influenced by politics.

"On the old test, applicants could be asked ‘Who does a U.S. senator represent?' The suggested answer was ‘all people of the state,'" he said. On the new test, the suggested answer is "citizens of their state."

"This is not correct," Reichlin-Melnick said. "Members of Congress represent everyone who lives within their district, regardless of citizenship status. It's been that way since the nation was founded."

A 2018 study by the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation found that only one in three U.S.-born citizens would pass the former naturalization test.

USCIS said it finalized⁹ the new test with the help of community-based organizations and volunteers across the country in summer 2020. "The data collected from this pilot was used to help USCIS make determinations about the language and grammatical structure of individual test items," the agency said.

Sarah Pierce is a policy expert at the Washington D.C.-based, Migration⁵ Policy Institute. She said the test changes could possibly triple the amount of time each immigration officer needs to spend with applicants.

"These changes reduce the efficiency of this already struggling agency," Pierce said. "The administration is adding hundreds of thousands of more minutes to these naturalization exams."

USCIS spokesman Dan Hetlage said applicants 65 years and older who have been living in the U.S. legally for at least 20 years will be provided special consideration. They will be able to study from a smaller number of civics subjects and will need to only get six out of 10 questions correct to pass.

Words in This Story

applicant – n. someone who asks for something officially, usually in writing

interview – n. a meeting in which someone is asked questions to see if they are suitable for a job, position, etc.

original – adj. existing since the beginning

status – n. the legal position of someone or something

determination – n. a decision that something will happen

efficiency – n. the good use of time and energy

1 citizenship   

n.市民权，公民权，国民的义务(身份)

参考例句：

• He was born in Sweden,but he doesn't have Swedish citizenship.他在瑞典出生，但没有瑞典公民身分。
• Ten years later,she chose to take Australian citizenship.十年后，她选择了澳大利亚国籍。

2 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。

3 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

4 holders   

支持物( holder的名词复数 )； 持有者； （支票等）持有人； 支托（或握持）…之物

参考例句：

• Slaves were mercilessly ground down by slave holders. 奴隶受奴隶主的残酷压迫。
• It is recognition of compassion's part that leads the up-holders of capital punishment to accuse the abolitionists of sentimentality in being more sorry for the murderer than for his victim. 正是对怜悯的作用有了认识，才使得死刑的提倡者指控主张废除死刑的人感情用事，同情谋杀犯胜过同情受害者。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

7 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 finalized   

vt.完成（finalize的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The draft of this article has been finalized [done]. 这篇文章已经定稿。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The draft was revised several times before it was finalized. 稿子几经删改才定下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》