The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it will reintroduce a stricter version of the U.S. naturalization civics test, expanding the number of questions and raising the bar for passing. The change, published in the Federal Register, revives a test first introduced in 2020 and later rolled back under President Biden.
Under the new rules, applicants must study 128 potential questions on U.S. history and government and correctly answer 12 of 20 during the interview. By contrast, the current test, in place since 2008, requires answering 6 of 10 correctly from a pool of 100. Applicants over 65 who have been permanent residents for at least 20 years remain eligible for a simplified version.
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Trump administration officials said the stricter test is part of a broader overhaul of the naturalization process aimed at protecting "traditional American culture and values," as the Los Angeles Times explains. "We are doing everything in our power to make sure that anyone who is offered the privilege of becoming an American citizen fulfills their obligation to their new country," Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.
USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser added that citizenship "should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values and principles as a nation."
Immigration advocates consulted by The LA Times criticized the change as a deliberate effort to make naturalization more difficult for longtime residents. "All this does is make it harder for long-time residents who contribute to this country every day to finally achieve the permanent protections that only U.S. citizenship can offer," said Jennifer Ibañez Whitlock of the National Immigration Law Center.
The move comes amid a wider push by the administration to tighten access to immigration benefits. In August, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services expanded vetting to include screening applicants for "anti-American ideologies or activities" and broadened the criteria used to evaluate "good moral character." As a result officers now conduct what the agency calls a "holistic assessment," which may take into account tax compliance, traffic infractions, and other behavior beyond criminal history.
The administration has also reinstated neighborhood checks, in which investigators interview neighbors and co-workers of applicants, and expanded social media reviews.
Critics argue that the undefined terms such as "anti-American" leave wide discretion to officers and risk politicizing the process. Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a lawyer and senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, described the move as "McCarthyism." The term "anti-American ideologies or activities" mentioned in the alert has no precedent in immigration law, he said in a post on X at the time "and its definition is entirely up to the Trump admin."
The new civics test will apply to applicants who file for naturalization after mid-October, according to USCIS.
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