US citizenship Interview
US Citizenship Test
The application for US citizenship requires an applicant to take an English and civics test.
Applicants must convince their interviewing officer that they can read, write and speak the general English language and that they have basic knowledge about the US history and government. The questions depend on the age and duration of the applicant's legal permanent residence.
100 Questions for Citizenship
There is a list of 100 questions that one needs to know for the citizenship test. As mentioned above, there are certain exceptions to take naturalization test. According to the immigration rules, the applicants who are above the age of 50 and have lived in US for a period totaling 20 years as permanent residents are exempted from the language proficiency test but are required to take the civics test in their preferred language. For the applicant above the age of 55, this exemption is there for the one who has lived in US as permanent resident at least for 15 years.
People who have lived in US for at least 20 years as a permanent resident and are above the age of 65 are exempted from the language proficiency test but are required to take the civics test in their preferred language. This civics test will be a simple one and normally only 10 questions are asked out of a list of 25.
There is an exemption for the mentally impaired people. People whose disability restricts them from learning English and civics are exempted from the naturalization test. Such applicants will have to get Form N-648 filled requesting an exemption and submit it along with their applications.
Other requirements for English and civics test accompanied with citizenship test answers are discussed in this paragraph. Even if you qualify for medical exception, you need to take the Oath of Allegiance to US but if the applicant is impaired mentally and cannot communicate and understand the meaning of this oath, USCIS may give him exemption from this requirement.
Applicants who qualify for the exemption from the English test must bring an interpreter with them to help them give the citizenship test answers. Answers to most of the citizenship interview questions will remain unchanged. The only answers likely to change are those to the few questions regarding persons holding government office, which are likely to change over a certain period. Citizenship interview questions do not include multiple choice questions. The interviewer will ask around 10 out of the 100 citizenship interview questions and the applicant has to answer 6 correctly to pass this exam.
The applicants' English knowledge will be tested on the basis of their ability to understand, read, write and speak basic English. Their speaking ability will be evaluated according to how they answer during the interview. The applicants will be given three sentences out of which they will have to read one correctly in a manner which shows that they have understood the meaning of the sentence. They will also be required to write one out of the three dictated sentences correctly.
