Trump Admin Restores Tougher Citizenship Test Scrapped by Biden

The pool of potential questions has also been expanded to 128 from 100, with fewer having simple answers.

An immigrant holds a program while waiting to take the Oath of Allegiance before receiving U.S. citizenship and naturalization documents during a formal ceremony at Midway International Airport in Chicago on June 25, 2025. Kamil Krzaczynski/AFP via Getty Images

The Trump administration is reviving a tougher version of the civics test that all prospective U.S. citizens must pass, as part of what officials describe as a “multi-step overhaul” of the naturalization process.

The changes, announced on Sept. 17, largely restore the naturalization civics test to a longer, tougher format implemented in late 2020, near the end of President Donald Trump’s first term. That version was discarded in 2021, shortly after President Joe Biden took office.

Under the revised test, applicants will need to answer 12 out of 20 questions correctly, rather than six out of 10, according to a notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The pool of potential questions has also been expanded from 100 to 128, with fewer that have simple, sometimes one-word answers. Officials say that about 75 percent of the questions remain the same or similar, and the other 25 percent of them cover new material.

The new questions include ones on the 10th Amendment, the significance of the Federalist Papers, the achievements of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the nature of Veterans Day and Memorial Day, the meaning of the national motto “E pluribus unum,” and examples of American innovation, such as the light bulb and the moon landing.

Some existing questions have altered acceptable answers. For instance, the current model answer to “Who does a U.S. Senator represent?” is “all people of the state.” On the revised test, the correct answer is limited to “citizens” of the state.

As before, the test will be given orally during an applicant’s citizenship interview. A key difference, however, is that immigration officers will be required to ask only as many questions as needed to determine whether an applicant has passed or failed.

The 2020 rule requires them to ask all 20 questions, even if the outcome might already be clear.

The new test will apply to applicants who file on or after Oct. 20.

“American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values and principles as a nation,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said in the Sept. 17 statement announcing the changes.

He said the revisions are necessary so that “the American people can be assured that those joining us as fellow citizens are fully assimilated and will contribute to America’s greatness.”

“These critical changes are the first of many,” Tragesser said.

The current version of the civics test was introduced in 2008. Applicants who fail are given one additional opportunity to pass. Those who are at least 65 years old and have lived in the United States as permanent residents for 20 years or more may take a simplified test drawn from a pool of just 20 questions, in their preferred language.

According to USCIS, as of 2022, more than 92 percent of applicants had passed the test on their first attempt.

Director of USCIS Joseph Edlow has argued that the test is “just too easy” and has suggested that it might be better to shift from an oral exam to a written, standardized format.

“We’re going to make the test harder in terms of making the questions a little bit more thought-provoking,” Edlow said at a Sept. 4 event hosted by the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, adding that he is “looking at other potential ways to move forward.”

“Applicants would come in a different day and actually have to [take a standardized test], and write an essay on what does it mean to me to be an American, and let’s see what people actually understand.

“Because being able to be coached through this process right now is not something that should be allowed and that should be that easy. And I’m seeing it, unfortunately.”