Updated U.S. citizenship test to have more questions, require more correct answers

The Trump administration is increasing the number of civics test questions that prospective American citizens could be asked to be naturalized, the latest move by his government to tighten the immigration system.

In reinstating a test briefly implemented as a pilot during Trump’s first presidency, the government could ask applicants any of  128 questions about American government, politics, history, symbols and holidays, up from 100. Applicants must answer 12 of up to 20 randomly selected questions correctly. The old test, dating to 2008, had a pool of 100 questions and a requirement of answering 6 of 10 correctly.

The new procedures also make changes to the testing rules relating to failing and passing.

The implementation of the new test could reduce the number of immigrants in the United States and make it harder to become a U.S. citizen.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration tightened vetting of applicants, screening social media posts for having "espoused anti-American views" or "the views of a terrorist organization," which has included certain criticisms of Israel the government deems antisemitic.

The tougher policies are in accordance with what the agency in charge, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said was Donald Trump’s executive order, "Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats."

The agency is required to evaluate "the adequacy of programs designed to ensure the proper assimilation of lawful immigrants into the United States, and recommend any additional measures to be taken that promote a unified American identity and attachment to the Constitution, laws, and founding principles of the United States."

The new testing protocols, outlined in a notice filed Thursday in the Federal Register, go into effect for those who file naturalization applications on or after Oct. 20.

Nancy Hiemstra, a Stony Brook professor who studies immigration, predicted the new testing protocols would mean fewer people would become American citizens.

"It will make it much more difficult for a large percentage of applicants to pass the test and to obtain citizenship," she said.

In addition to having 28 more questions, some questions on the 2025 test have been rephrased from the previous version.

In the notice filed in the Federal Register, the government wrote: "Demonstration of English and civics knowledge is essential to showing an alien's commitment to fulfill the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship and to actively assimilate into American society. Understanding the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, engaging with the government, and fully contributing to the democratic process all rely on a basic understanding of U.S. government and civics."

Applicants who are older than age 65 when the application is filed, and have been living in the United States legally for at least 20 years, will be given a narrower pool of potential questions and take the test in the language of the applicant’s choice. 

The parents of Jackie Chung, of Massapequa Park, came to the United States from Italy as teenagers and later became citizens after undergoing what she described as a rigorous process.

"I just think it should have pretty high standards as far as keeping everything the way the country was built," she said.

Two decades ago, Terry Blake took the test after emigrating from Trinidad and Tobago.

"It depends on the questions. If you put Catch-22 questions to make people fail then it’s ridiculous, but if it’s proper questions then it makes sense," he said.

NewsdayTV's Shari Einhorn contributed to this story.