Plan to Improve the Naturalization Test

On July 23, 2019, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it is revising the current naturalization test with improvements to ensure it continues to serve as an accurate measure of a naturalization applicant’s civics knowledge and that it reflects best practices in adult education assessments. USCIS reports the goal is to create a meaningful, uniform, and efficient test that will assess applicants’ knowledge and understanding of U.S. history, government and values.

This past December 2018, USCIS formed a naturalization test revision working group with members from across the agency. The working group has been reviewing and updating the naturalization test questions. The working group will also assess potential changes to the speaking portion of the test. USCIS is soliciting the input of experts in the field of adult education to ensure that this process is fair and transparent. After careful analysis of the pilot, and thorough officer training, USCIS will set an implementation date in December 2020 or early 2021.  USCIS is also formalizing a decennial revision process to allow for updates every 10 years. Critics have expressed concerns that the announcement is a continuation of efforts by USCIS to make naturalization more difficult, including dramatically slowing down the processing of naturalization applications.