USCIS Announces Revised Civics Test For Naturalization

By: Kevin Tung

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced that it will issue a revised version of the civics portion of the naturalization test. USCIS revises the civics test every 10 years to ensure that it remains a relevant way to test applicants’ knowledge of US government, history, and civic values.

Individuals must take the naturalization test as required by statute when applying for US citizenship. The naturalization test has two components: An English language portion and the civics portion. The English language portion of the test has not changed. Applicants who apply for naturalization on or after December 1, 2020 must take the new civics test. Those who apply before December 1, 2020 will use the current version from 2008. Test study guides are available on the USCIS website.

USCIS piloted the new civics test portion in summer 2020 to ensure fairness. Applicants must answer at least 12 questions correctly on the civics test out of a total of 20, with a minimum passing score of 60%.

For applicants who are 65 years or older and have had lawful permanent resident (green card) status for 20 years or more, tests are 10 questions long with a 60% passing score. These individuals may study only the questions marked with an asterisk in USCIS’s civics test study guide.

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For help obtaining United States citizenship by naturalization, or other case-specific questions, contact your trusted Chugh, LLP attorney.