USCIS RELEASES NEW NATURALIZATION CIVICS TEST
-Eligible Applicants Face Tougher Citizenship Test By Charles Jackson, AAN-Communication Team
On November 13, 2020, USCIS, the federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to the United States announced that it has revised the civics portion of the naturalization test.
According to the release, all naturalization applicants with a filing date on or after December 1, 2020, will be required to take the 2020 version of the Civics Test where the officer will ask the applicant 20 questions from the 128 civic test questions. The applicant must answer 12 of these correctly in order to pass. Please click the link below to see the new questionnaire: https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship-resource-center/the-2020-version-of-the-civics-test/128-civics-questions-and-answers-2020-version
Prior to the new rule, applicants for naturalization with a filing date before December 1, 2020 take the 2008 version of the Civics Test in which the officer will ask the applicant 10 questions from the 100 Civic Test Questions. The applicant must answer 6 of these questions correctly in order to pass.
In doubling the number of test questions, USCIS stated that the passing score will remain at 60%. Although, many questions have not changed, some have been reworded and others require additional explanation which will make it tougher for applicants to pass the test.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Adoubou Traore, Executive Director, African Advocacy Network, and (AAN) joined other immigration advocates to criticize the test, stating that some questions have been made more difficult without any evidence to justify such a change, while others have been politicized.
For example, Mr. Traore noted, in the previous test, applicants could be asked, ‘Who does a U.S. senator represent?’ The suggested answer was ‘all people of the state.’ On the new test, the suggested answer is ‘citizens of their state.’” Members of Congress represent everyone who lives within their district, regardless of citizenship status. “It’s been that way since the nation was founded”. Mr. Traore stressed.
In 2019, Mr. Ken Cuccinelli, then USCIS acting director stated that the agency will improve the naturalization civics test for the first time since 2008. “Updating, maintaining, and improving a test that is current and relevant is our responsibility as an agency in order to help potential new citizens fully understand the meaning of U.S. citizenship and the values that unite all Americans,” Mr. Cuccinelli, said in a statement.
President-elect Joe Biden has plans to transform America by implementing sweeping policy changes including (robust economic relief package to cope with the impact of the pandemic, race and criminal justice reform, climate change and immigration) during his first 100 days in office.
“It is not clear, whether President-elect Joe Biden will redo the new citizenship test or reinstate the old civic test as part of the broader immigration reform.” Mr. Traore stated.