LEGAL LANGUAGE SERVICES

US Immigration Test Redesigned

The new naturalization test questions have drawn both praise and criticism.  U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has just announced that they are releasing a new set of questions for the naturalization test.  Starting October 1, 2008, a new group of 100 questions will be used to test applicants who wish to become U.S. citizens.

Conservatives concerned that the current citizenship test is too easy have been somewhat mollified with the new questions.  Certainly many of the new questions require more in depth answers.  For example, question eleven has been changed from, “What country did we fight during the Revolutionary War?” (a one or two word answer) to “Why did the colonists fight the British?” (a topic on which people have written books).  Of course no one is expecting a book length answer, and acceptable answers to this question include “taxation without representation” and “because they didn’t have self-government.”

Some liberals and immigrant rights groups have argued that the new test questions are too difficult.  The makers of the new test claim that fears that the new test questions will prove more difficult are unfounded.  In trials of the new test 92% of test takers passed on their first try, a significantly higher number than 84%, the amount of test takers who currently pass the test on their first try.  However, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, one of the groups involved in helping to redesign the test, released a statement on September 28, 2007 warned that the test questions are becoming “increasingly irrelevant and difficult” and that “most Americans would not be able to answer the test’s abstract questions, such as, ‘What is the rule of law?’”

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services claims that one of the reasons for the redesign of the naturalization test is to “assess whether applicants have a meaningful understanding of U.S. government and history.”  By “meaningful” they hoped to emphasize a true understanding of U.S. history, government, laws, and geography as opposed to civics trivia.  In this vein, questions such as “Who said, ‘Give me liberty or give me death’?” and “Who wrote The Star-Spangled Banner?” have been replaced by questions like “Name one problem that led to the Civil War” and “What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?”

Interestingly enough, the list of acceptable answers for “one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for” does not include his discovery of the nature of electricity and the invention of the lighting rod.  A disclaimer at the beginning of the test states that, “USCIS is aware that the 100 items sometimes have answers that are not listed here.”  Certainly this question about Franklin demonstrates that the new naturalization test will almost certainly be the subject of debate and will spark controversy about what answers are correct.

Some historians praise the new test as emphasizing a better understanding of the way that American democracy works.  In addition to this, they claim that there is more of an emphasis on the many diverse groups of people who have helped create modern American polity and culture, including the American Indians, African-Americans, and women.  Questions that touch upon the importance that these groups in the development of the United States as it is today include “What did Susan B. Anthony do?”, “Name one American Indian tribe in the United States”, and “What movement tried to end racial discrimination?”  However, some Latino groups observed that none of the new questions refer to Latinos, a notable absence as, of those who took the pilot test, 55% of those who participated were from a Latin American country.

Other changes to the test include the word “pilgrims” being replaced with “colonists” and a new question asking about what event took place on September 11, 2001.  Instead of asking where the White House is the test requires test-takers to know where the Statue of Liberty is (Perhaps a bit of a trick question, as it is in fact in New Jersey, not New York.  New York Harbor and Liberty Island are also acceptable answers).  Of course, perhaps one of the most daunting changes to the process of becoming a citizen actually took place in July 2007, when the fees increased from $405 to $675.

So, if you are applying to become a U.S. citizen, which test will you be taking?  If you apply before October 1, 2008 and are scheduled for your naturalization interview before October 1, 2008, you are taking this test.  If you apply before October 1, 2008 and are scheduled for your naturalization interview after October 1, 2008, you may choose which test to take.  If you apply after October 1, 2008, you must take the redesigned immigration test.

If you are interested in practicing for the new naturalization test, we have created a multiple-choice test intended as a study aid for the test.