Citizenship & Immigration Services Test

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Test is an important part of the process by which an adult immigrant can become a U.S. Citizen. An immigrant must demonstrate the ability to read, write and speak basic English, and exhibit a basic knowledge of the government and history of the United States.

Considerations

• According to the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services, the test was redesigned in 2008 to make the naturalization process more "standardized, fair and meaningful." The naturalization test includes a civic test and an oral and written English test. An applicant must speak English well enough to answer basic questions during the eligibility interview. Subjects covered in the written test are American Government, Integrated Civics, American History Reading and Writing.

Preparation

• There are many resources available to help an applicant prepare for the test. Some communities offer English language and citizenship classes at libraries and community colleges. The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services provides free online study materials for the test on its website.

Features

• An applicant will be asked a maximum of ten questions for the civics test, and must be able to correctly answer six out of 10 questions to pass. The English reading test contains up to three sentences. An applicant must be able to correctly read one out of three sentences in English. To pass the writing portion of the English test, an applicant must be able to write one out of three sentences correctly. An applicant may retake the test if she fails it the first time.