Modifications to US Citizenship Test Worry Immigrants with Limited English Proficiency

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As the United States gears up to revamp its citizenship test, immigrants and their advocates express concerns about the potential impact on those with limited English language skills.

The naturalization test, one of the last stages in the protracted journey towards becoming a US citizen, has been under scrutiny since former Republican President Donald Trump’s administration altered it in 2020, making it lengthier and harder to pass. Only a few months later, Democratic President Joe Biden signed an executive order focused on removing obstacles to citizenship. Consequently, the test was reverted back to its earlier version, last revised in 2008.

In December, US officials announced that a refresh of the citizenship test was due after 15 years. The reworked version is expected to be released towards the end of the next year.

The proposed version of the test by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will include a new spoken section to assess English language capabilities. Officers will present images depicting ordinary situations – such as daily activities, weather, or food – and the applicant will be required to describe them verbally.

Currently, an officer gauges the applicant’s speaking skills during the naturalization interview by asking personal questions that the applicant has already answered in the naturalization paperwork.

Immigrants like Heaven Mehreta, who moved from Ethiopia a decade ago, are anxious about these potential changes. She learned English as an adult and found pronunciation challenging. She worries that introducing a new spoken section based on images, as opposed to personal questions, will increase the difficulty of the test for others in similar situations.

Another proposed amendment would transform the civics section on US history and government into a multiple-choice format, rather than the current oral short-answer layout.

In Massachusetts, Bill Bliss, a citizenship textbook author, illustrated in a blog post how the new test could require a broader base of knowledge.

Lynne Weintraub, a citizenship coordinator at Jones Library’s English as a Second Language Center in Massachusetts, believes that the proposed changes to the civics section could make the test more challenging for individuals with limited English literacy skills.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that the proposed changes would “reflect current best practices in test design” and would aid in the standardization of the citizenship test.

The agency plans to conduct a nationwide trial of the proposed changes in 2023, welcoming public feedback. An external panel of experts in language acquisition, civics, and test development will then review the trial results and offer recommendations on implementing the proposed changes.

Compared to other Western countries like Germany, Canada, and the UK, the U.S. currently has the easiest citizenship test, according to Sara Goodman, a political science professor at the University of California, Irvine.

However, Elizabeth Jacobs, director of regulatory affairs and policy at the Center for Immigration Studies, argued that the proposed changes could simplify the test further, which her organization believes is a step in the wrong direction.

While not everyone agrees, it’s clear that the potential changes to the US citizenship test have triggered a debate about the importance of the civics test and the degree of knowledge required for becoming a US citizen.

According to a USCIS report from December, over a million people became U.S. citizens in the fiscal year 2022, one of the highest numbers since 1907. Additionally, the backlog of naturalization applications was reduced by over 60% from the previous year.

Trisha Ahmed, a member of the Big Big News/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative, contributed to this report. Report for America is a non-profit program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover under-reported issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about US Citizenship Test Changes

More about US Citizenship Test Changes

• US Citizenship and Immigration Services
• Information on the US Naturalization Test
• Proposed Changes to the US Citizenship Test
• Center for Immigration Studies
• International Institute of Minnesota