The Chicago immigration attorneys are following developments in immigration law. Today, the USCIS announced that applicants that file their naturalization applications on or after December 1, 2020, will have to pass the updated citizenship test. The new citizenship test will include 128 questions from the prior 100, and the officer will ask 20 questions, an increase from the previously required 10 question. The USCIS will require a pass rate of 60% of the citizenship test, which means that an applicant must answer at least 12 out of the 20 questions. The officer will not stop once the applicant answers 12 questions correctly but will ask all 20 “to gather data on test items to aid in future updates to the civics test.” The officer will read of questions that a computer will randomly select.
Remember that “file” in immigration parlance means that the USCIS must have received the application no later than November 30, 2020, for the old test to apply.
According to the USCIS, “the revised test will improve USCIS’ ability to assess applicants’ knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and civics as required by the INA.” The new test is now available on the USCIS’s website.
https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/find-study-materials-and-resources/check-for-test-updates .
If you are eligible to file for naturalization and want to have the old test apply, contact an attorney right away. Our immigration attorneys are ready to help.