The Trump administration is preparing to reinstate a more rigorous version of the American citizenship test, signaling a renewed push to strengthen the naturalization process and elevate the symbolic weight of becoming an American citizen.
Joseph Edlow, the newly appointed director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), confirmed that the agency will overhaul the current exam, arguing that it is too simplistic and fails to reflect the seriousness of American civic responsibility.
“The test, as it’s laid out right now, it’s not very difficult,” Edlow told The New York Times. “It’s very easy to kind of memorize the answers. I don’t think we’re really comporting with the spirit of the law.”
What’s Changing?
The current naturalization test requires applicants to answer six out of 10 civics questions correctly, drawn from a pool of 100. It also includes basic assessments of English reading, writing, and speaking skills. Roughly 90% of test-takers pass on their first attempt.
Under the proposed changes, USCIS plans to bring back the 2020 version of the test, originally implemented during President Trump’s first term. That version expanded the question bank to 128 questions and increased the required correct answers to 12 out of 20.
Additionally, the updated exam would introduce a visual-speaking component. Immigration officers would present applicants with images — such as weather conditions, meals, or everyday activities — and ask them to describe the scenes in English. The goal, Edlow said, is to better assess practical English fluency and deepen applicants’ understanding of American culture and civics.
Supporters Say It’s About Upholding Standards
The Trump administration argues that tougher standards reinforce the value of citizenship and ensure that new Americans are equipped to engage fully in civic life.
President Trump, a long time critic of lax immigration standards, called citizenship “one of the most priceless gifts ever granted by human hands.” His administration views more rigorous testing requirements as a step toward preserving the value of American citizenship.
Edlow echoed this sentiment, saying the changes are meant to bring the test more in line with the spirit of assimilation — and not merely serve as a box-checking exercise.
Critics Warn of Barriers for Vulnerable Immigrants
However, immigration advocates and educators caution that the proposed revisions could make naturalization harder for those with limited education, literacy challenges, or refugee backgrounds.
“We have a lot of students that are refugees, and they’re coming from war-torn countries where maybe they didn’t have a chance to complete school or even go to school,” said Mechelle Perrott, a citizenship coordinator at San Diego Community College District’s College of Continuing Education. “It’s more difficult learning to read and write if you don’t know how to do that in your first language.”
Opponents also worry that the new visual component could disadvantage older immigrants or those unfamiliar with standardized testing formats. “It’s not just about knowledge,” Perrott added, “it’s about access.”
A Test with a History of Politics
The citizenship test has seen several revisions over the past two decades. It was standardized under President George W. Bush in 2008, expanded during Trump’s first term in 2020, and scaled back under President Biden in 2021.
A new version was drafted in late 2024 but shelved after negative feedback from immigrant advocates and educators. The Trump administration now appears determined to revisit and restore its original vision.
Citizenship by the Numbers
In 2024, nearly 820,000 immigrants became U.S. citizens, bringing the total number of naturalizations since 2022 to over 1 million.
The administration has not yet confirmed a timeline for rolling out the new test, but officials say it could be implemented within the next year.
As the debate over immigration continues to shape the political landscape, the citizenship test is becoming a symbol in the broader culture war over American identity and belonging.
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Seijah Drake was born in Boston, MA, where she developed a penchant for writing early on and a passion for politics in college. After college she worked briefly for a conservative media in New York before relocating to the Greater D.C. Area to pursue a career in political marketing. She now resides in the free state of Florida.
How many natural born citizens could pass this test? It is depressing to think about.
If a person doesn’t know English, where are they getting their news? How are they doing to get information for elections? Reading and understanding spoken English should be a requirement for citizenship.
I believe the citizen ship test should be given to every high school student in the nation. They would NOT BE ABLE TO PASS. Then, the curriculum should be changed to include this to prove that our educational system has begun to wake up to the fact that social needs are NOT as important as education regarding our nation. There are people who have no idea what an amendment is, where Nebraska is, what year America was discovered or when the Bill of Rights was signed. They also can’t speak the language of our nation – ENGLISH!!! Our citizens by birth are ignorant to information about the country they live in.
As a Naturalized citizen from way back,the rules and assignments should just be followed these days.
A simple question: Why aren’t nations actively recruiting foreign patriots to come back and teach under privileged minorities? Let these governments use their resources to educate and train their people. The US is not the worlds training ground for the world’s poorest.
I think that everyone that has been here legally for a long time and waiting, should get the lesser/easier test. From here on out, make it even tougher than the harder test, so they can prove they really want, and deserve to be here.
“The current naturalization test requires applicants to answer six out of 10 civics questions correctly, drawn from a pool of 100. It also includes basic assessments of English reading, writing, and speaking skills. Roughly 90% of test-takers pass on their first attempt.” This is prima facie evidence of the test being too easy. Answering only 6 out of 10 civics questions correctly– laughable! America worked because we required immigrants to learn English so that they could assimilate. We are an English-speaking nation; English is the business language of the world. If you plan to become a U.S. citizen, citizenship has less meaning if you don’t have a grasp of the common vernacular & could be dangerous if you can’t read road signs (which aren’t in Spanish or other languages). We need to incentivize would-be citizens to learn basic English, to be motivated to earn the price of admission, not just be given it, like a piece of candy to a child. Refugees from Cuba have often braved shark-infested waters for the hope of living in freedom– people that motivated would also be motivated enough to master a rudimentary grasp of English and be able to pass a citizenship test that’s more rigorous than the dumbed-down one put in place by the Open Borders fanatics.
America FIRST means immigrants leaning English, our history, our constitution and our laws!