One of the most essential parts of your citizenship application is the US Citizenship Test! To become an American citizen, you must pass the examination, which you may only take twice.
An English proficiency test is the first part that evaluates the applicant’s reading, writing, and speaking skills in the language. The second exam, a civics test, assesses the candidate’s understanding of US history and politics.
Meanwhile, most applicants for US citizenship are required to take both exam sections. Nonetheless, some candidates can qualify for an exemption due to age, length of green card residency, or specific medical issues.
This article will explain what to expect on the US citizenship test, how to prepare, and what happens after taking it.
Components of the US Citizenship Test
1. The English Component
The US Citizenship Test’s English section consists of speaking, reading, and writing exercises. Immigration officials will give you a digital tablet for reading and writing assessments.
The English portion will assess your proficiency with vocabulary and basic grammar. Feel free to make a few typical errors in the English section. It’s acceptable not to be fluent in English.
You can ask your immigration officer questions to get clarification during the test. After that, your immigration officer might ask you to repeat a word or phrase or provide you clarification on a query.
The Speaking Test
Your immigration officer will quiz you on your application for naturalization and eligibility during the speaking portion of the test. They do this to evaluate your comprehension and speaking skills in English.
You can review your citizenship application before the test to help you be as prepared as possible for this section of the English language exam.
The Reading Test
Your immigration officer will give you a digital tablet for the reading exam. They will ask you to read a sentence from the iPad. Until you have correctly read one sentence, you will be given a maximum of three sentences to read aloud.
You won’t need to read any further sentences if you correctly read the first one. This indicates that you passed. Words from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) list that may appear on reading test questions are kept current.
Some of the words in this list are the American flag, senators, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, the Bill of Rights, Father of Our Country, and various names for American holidays.
In addition, basic verbs like can, do, is, vote, and live are also included. Before you take the test, ensure you go over this list. When giving you a reading test, the immigration officer attempts to determine whether you comprehend the sentences you read.
Therefore, when reading sentences aloud, take care not to pause for too long. It would be beneficial if you avoided substituting more recognizable words for unfamiliar ones in the statement.
Generally speaking, it’s acceptable to talk with an unconventional tone, miss a few brief words, or pronounce some words wrong.
The Writing Test
The writing test is the last section of the English component. You must listen to your immigration officer speak one sentence for the writing component. Next, you’ll use a stylus—a touchscreen pen tool—to write that sentence on your digital tablet.
To pass this component of the test, you must accurately compose one out of every three sentences. Making a few punctuation, grammar, or capitalization mistakes is usually acceptable.
If you use numbers in your sentences, you can write the number or the numeral out. Writing “two” or “2” as an example would be acceptable. Write correctly and avoid using abbreviations.
Additionally, USCIS keeps track of vocabulary terms that may appear when writing test questions. Before your exam, ensure you go over the list as well.
2. Civics Component
You must adequately answer at least six out of ten questions to show that you have enough knowledge and comprehension of US history and government to pass this section of the citizenship test.
After you’ve successfully answered six questions, the immigration officer will randomly select the questions, read them aloud, and end the test. As long as your responses are accurate, you can phrase them however you like.
USCIS provides the complete list of questions for the civics test; unless you are 65 or older, you must study the 20 questions indicated with an asterisk (*) and all 100 questions on the list.
Most of the questions deal with US government matters, with the others covering US history. The study materials will include the solutions to a few questions.
For example, “Who oversees the executive branch?” (The President, in response). For others, you’ll need to conduct some study. You may come across the query, “Who is the current US Senator from your state?” (Your state will determine the response.)
You should also anticipate that the examination procedure and the intricacy of the questions will be somewhat determined by the following:
- Your age
- Your background
- Your educational attainment
- How long you’ve lived in the United States
- Study opportunities that were available to you
- Other factors concerning your knowledge and understanding
How to Prepare for the US Citizenship Tests
Getting good marks on the naturalization test is essential to becoming a citizen of the United States. USCIS offers study guides for every exam component, including the civics and English tests, to aid in your preparation.
You can follow these helpful tips to help you ace your exam:
Start Practicing Now
To become a United States citizen, you must pass the naturalization test. For every exam component, including the civics and English tests, USCIS offers study guides to aid your preparation.
Read Children’s Books
Much of the vocabulary used in the English test will be simple words encountered in children’s books. Reading books for kids can help you become familiar with essential English words and how they’re used in a sentence.
Watch and Listen
Study resources with audio and video components might be more exciting and valuable for you if you’re an aural learner (someone who learns best by listening) or a visual learner (someone who learns best by seeing).
For example, questions about civics have visuals to help you remember the concepts and an audio option to hear the same questions and responses.
Ask for Help
For some people, practicing what they’ve learned in groups helps them retain it better. Let’s say you feel better at ease using this approach to learning.
In that situation, you can ask a friend or member of your family for assistance with pronunciation, especially if they are fluent in spoken English.
Although previous knowledge helps, they don’t need to be specialists in civics either, as most of the solutions to the questions will be in the study materials! Ask them to quiz you occasionally to ensure you remember what you’ve learned.
Take the Practice Tests
You’re likely to feel more confident on the day of your actual exam if you know what to expect. That’s why it’s essential to take the practice exams provided by USCIS that simulate the actual tests.
Slow Down
Small portions of the content should be studied first, and you should progressively build on what you already know if you need help to process large volumes of knowledge at once or need more time.
For example, you might concentrate on learning their names if you are proficient in spelling holiday names. Once satisfied with the complete list, you could add another category of words (verbs, for instance) the following day.
Take Notes
USCIS provides flashcards with lines on each card’s back for note-taking. It’s a good idea to use these to your advantage. Write information about each vocabulary term or civics-related topic to help you remember it.
For “Abraham Lincoln,” for example, you could jot down that he was the 16th US president, that he led the Union in the Civil War to end slavery, or that he was 6-foot-4 inches tall — whatever will help you recall what you’ve learned!
Group Questions Together
As you’re studying, you may find it helpful to study words or related questions. Scientific research tells us that people remember some information better when they study it in smaller, associated chunks.
For example, when memorizing the spelling of “Presidents’ Day,” the next vocabulary term you might focus on could be “Thanksgiving,” also a holiday.
As another example, when you’re trying to remember the answer to “We elect a president for how many years?” (answer: four), you might then study the answer for “In what month do we vote for president?” (answer: November).
Both of these civics questions are related to the US presidency. Conveniently, vocabulary words and civics questions are already grouped by category in many of the study materials from USCIS.
What’s Next?
Once you’ve completed your citizenship test, you can expect to hear back from US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) about the results on the same day.
If you Passed
Congratulations! You’re almost finished with the naturalization process. Check out the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website for details about the final step.
If you Fail
You can retake the whole exam (or just the portion you didn’t pass), but the questions on the second test will differ from those on the first.
USCIS will schedule your re-examination, which usually takes about 60 to 90 days (two to three months) from your first exam appointment date.
If you fail to Show Up for Re-examination
Unless USCIS excuses you from attending your re-examination appointment — for example, if you were hospitalized — you must not miss your second exam appointment.
Otherwise, USCIS will consider your absence a failed attempt, and your US citizenship application will be denied.
If you Fail the Re-examination
USCIS will reject your naturalization application. After receiving the letter outlining USCIS’s decision, you will have 30 days to write to them to contest the refusal.
Within 180 days of receiving your request, USCIS will set up a hearing if they approve it. A USCIS officer will retest you on the exam part that you failed on your second try during the hearing.
Conclusion
Getting US citizenship is a noteworthy accomplishment! You are prepared to pass the US Citizenship Test and enjoy the rights and responsibilities of US citizenship if you have a firm grasp of the test’s structure, substance, and practical application. Good luck!