USCIS Announces A Harder Naturalization Test Beginning Dec. 1, 2020

Last week, USCIS announced its plans to implement a revised version of the naturalization civics test starting on December 1, 2020.  Applicants for naturalization, or U.S. citizenship, are required to take an English and civics exam demonstrating their knowledge of U.S. government and history, unless they qualify for an age based or medical based exemption.

The current version of the test requires applicants to answer 6 questions correctly out of 10 to pass the civics portion. The 10 questions are pulled at random by the officer from a list of 100 questions.   According to USCIS, the revised test will include more questions that test the applicant’s understanding of U.S. history and civics and will cover a variety of topics that provide the applicant with more opportunities to learn about the United States as part of the test preparation process.  The revised test will not change the passing score, which will remain at 60%, but candidates will be required to answer 12 questions correctly out of 20 to pass. These questions will be pulled from a larger list of 128 questions.

Applicants who file for naturalization on or after December 1, 2020 will be required to take the new version of the test unless they qualify for an age based or medical exemption. Applicants who filed their naturalization application before December 1, 2020, or whose application is currently pending, will continue to take the current version of the test.

If you have any questions about the naturalization process, please contact one of our attorneys at MMHPC.