Preparing For The U.S. Citizenship Exam
Citizenship Exam Preparation Courses And Programs
Naturalization is an essential milestone in your path toward U.S. citizenship. The decision to apply for citizenship will require from you a great deal of preparation, determination, and effort. The good news is that you won’t have to do it alone.
Local organizations, non-profit organizations, and social service providers offer citizenship preparation classes to help you prepare and pass your citizenship exam.
Interview And Exam Process
During your naturalization interview, an Immigration Officer will ask questions about your application, background, and your current and future intentions should you be granted U.S. citizenship.
You will be required to take and pass an English and Civics exam. It is possible to qualify for an exemption waiver of these exams, but this is extremely rare. You may wish to consult with an immigration lawyer concerning what may qualify you for the test exemption.
The English test has three major parts. Each is designed to test your reading, writing, and speaking proficiency.
English Reading Speaking Writing Skills
English Reading Skills
Your ability to read English is determined by the immigration officer, who will evaluate your performance during the interview. The information is described and detailed on Form N-400 of your Application for Naturalization. You must read correctly one of three different sentences out loud to pass the test.
Studying the list of vocabulary words will assist you in studying the speaking, reading, and writing aspects of the test and the test’s civics and history portions.
English Writing Skills
You will be required to demonstrate English writing and vocabulary skills. You will be required to choose one of the multiple incorrectly-worded sentences and asked to correct them using proper English.
English Speaking And Vocabulary Skills
Your ability to speak English is part of your eligibility interview and appears on Form N-400 of your Application for Naturalization.
Studying for the vocabulary section of the test will also help you learn for the English writing portion.
U.S. Civics Skills
Civics Test
The civics test focuses on significant events in U.S. history and the inside workings of government. You may also be tested on more recent events, such as the attempted January 6 insurrection, our financial and weapons support of Ukraine’s democracy, and the horrific attack on our homeland on 9-11-2001.
The civics portion of your test is made up of one hundred different civics questions. The immigration officer will ask you ten questions from a list of 100 possible questions. You must answer correctly at least six of the ten questions asked of you to pass the civics portion of the test.
Two-Retake Exams Per Application
You are given two chances to pass within one application process. If you fail any section of the tests during your initial interview, you will need to be retested on the part you failed.
Time Between Retesting
Retesting is usually scheduled between sixty to ninety days from your initial interview.