US immigration officials have made some major changes into the immigration citizenship test to tighten immigration process.
According to CBS News, in the latest step to tighten legal immigration process the US government has revamped the citizenship civic test and has added more question into it.
The applicants need to pass the civic test to get American citizenship.
Under the new plan the 2020 tests from US President Donald Trump’s first term will be reinstated, which was dropped by the former president Joe Biden’s administration citing it overly burdensome.
Among other requirements, legal immigrants applying to become U.S. citizens must demonstrate they have lived in the U.S. as lawful permanent residents for at least 3 or 5 years, depending on their case; that they can read, write and speak English; and that they have a basic understanding of America's history and political system.
The civics test has long been administered to assess the last requirement. Under the new version of the test, applicants will need to study 128 questions about US history and politics, and answer 12 out of 20 of those questions correctly.
Previously, under a test dating back to 2008, citizenship applicants had to study a pool of 100 questions and answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly.
The test is administered orally, and the questions are not multiple choice. Most have several acceptable answers. Those who fail the test get a second chance to pass.
If they fail again, their citizenship application is denied. Those 65 or older who have been in the US as permanent residents for 20 or more years only have to study a pool of 20 questions, and can take the citizenship test in their preferred language.