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US Citizenship Test overhauled: More questions, higher passing score from 2025, here's who will be impacted
USCIS has announced new citizenship test regulations effective October 20, 2025, increasing civics questions and passing scores.
The Trump administration has made a portion of the certification process for US citizenship considerably more challenging. New regulations will impact applicants who filed their applications on or after October 20, 2025, according to a formal notification issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The changes include a clause that permits tests to end early, increase the passing score, and add extra civics questions.
US citizenship tests: What are the new changes?
According to the USCIS, the modifications are intended to guarantee that candidates comprehend all aspects of US civics, including the Constitution, laws, history, and governing principles. The changes also foster a “unified American identity and attachment to the Constitution, laws, and founding principles of the United States,” according to the agency.
Candidates now have to respond to 20 civics questions rather than 10, and one can clear the test after giving at least 12 correct responses. Earlier, a candidate was supposed to answer minimum six answers accurately.
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Administrators have been directed by USCIS to terminate the examinations instantly if an applicant properly answers 12 questions or incorrectly answers 9.
There are now 128 questions in the entire pool instead of only 100. Now, the subjects will cover the US Constitution, the President's and Congress's functions, significant events in US history, the Declaration of Independence, the original US states, national festivals, and America's pre-European population.
US citizenship tests: Who all will be affected by the modifications?
Candidates who submitted their applications before to October 20 will continue to take the 2008 test. Some applicants who have been lawful permanent residents for at least 20 years and are 65 years of age or older may take a brief 10-question test that is prepared from the 2008 or 2025 question banks. English language competency—including reading, writing, speaking, and understanding—will continue to be a requirement for naturalization.
Joseph Edlow, the head of USCIS, stated in an interview with the Centre for Immigration Studies last month that the previous exam was "just too easy" to pass. "We need to make it a little bit more challenging. We’ve got to make sure that people are actually understanding what it means to be a US citizen, what it means to get that benefit,” he had stated.
