President Donald Trump's administration is moving to reinstate a more rigorous version of the U.S. citizenship test, with officials stating that the current version is too easy and fails to reflect the significance of American naturalization adequately, The Hill reported.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is preparing to roll out changes to the naturalization test, a shift that will restore tougher requirements introduced during President Trump's first term.
Newly appointed USCIS Director Joseph Edlow described the existing exam as insufficiently challenging and in need of reform.
"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."
Currently, the test includes an English proficiency evaluation and a civics portion. Applicants must answer six of 10 randomly selected questions correctly from a collection of 100.
According to USCIS, nearly 90% of candidates pass the test on their first attempt.
Edlow indicated that the administration plans to revert to the 2020 version of the test, which increased the question bank to 128 and raised the number of correct answers required to 12 out of 20. In addition, the updated format would include a new speaking component designed to assess English fluency through visual prompts.
Under the proposed changes, immigration officers would show applicants photographs of common scenarios, such as weather patterns, meals, or daily activities, and ask them to describe the images in English.
Edlow said these revisions would help deepen applicants' understanding of U.S. civics and history.
However, critics warn that the changes could make the path to citizenship more difficult for vulnerable populations.
"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," Mechelle Perrott, a citizenship coordinator at San Diego Community College District's College of Continuing Education, told The Associated Press.
"It's more difficult learning to read and write if you don't know how to do that in your first language. That's my main concern about the multiple-choice test; it's a lot of reading."
The citizenship test has undergone several revisions over the past two decades.
It was standardized under President George W. Bush in 2008. During Trump's first term, the test was expanded to 128 questions before being rolled back by the Biden administration in 2021. An earlier test redesign was shelved after receiving some negative feedback in late 2024, Newsweek reported.
Trump has frequently emphasized the importance of American citizenship, calling it "one of the most priceless gifts ever granted by human hands."
In 2024, nearly 820,000 immigrants were naturalized, and more than 1 million have become citizens since 2022.
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.