Nearly 120,000 residents of the New York metropolitan area became U.S. citizens in 2024. Those who want to follow in their footsteps will face a higher hurdle next year: a revised citizenship test instructors say will be more challenging.
Citizenship test instructors across the five boroughs are bracing for the changes by overhauling their courses and familiarizing students with what to expect.
“There is a lot of new material to learn,” said Caton McFadden, a teacher and curriculum developer at Brooklyn Public Library who helps immigrants become new Americans.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced the revisions in September, which come as the Trump administration has clamped down on illegal immigration and curtailed some legal paths to citizenship.
In public remarks, USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said the current test was “just too easy.”
Instead of preparing to be asked any of 100 questions from a course package, future citizenship applicants will have to prepare for 128 questions, including some that instructors said required a more in-depth appreciation of U.S. history and government.
The civics test is administered orally, instructors said, and would require students to answer 12 out of 20 questions correctly going forward, instead of six out of 10 with the existing test.
Matthew Tragesser, a spokesperson for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a September statement that with the change, “the American people can be assured that those joining us as fellow citizens are fully assimilated and will contribute to America’s greatness.”
“American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world,” Tragesser said, “and should only be reserved for aliens who will fully embrace our values and principles as a nation.”
Some immigrant rights advocates have criticized the Trump administration for the change.
Nicole Melaku, the executive director of National Partnership for New Americans, said in a statement that the new test “is the latest deliberate and systemic barrier designed to exclude, not educate,” and should not depend on literacy level or “arbitrary historical opinions.”
NPNA said the introduction of the new test follows a notable increase in citizenship denials.
According to an October NPNA report, the Trump administration denied 10% of citizenship applications in its first six months, up from 8% in the last six months of the Biden administration.
Organizations that help immigrants in New York prepare for the exam are forging ahead.
Marybeth Ihle, a spokesperson for the Upper West Side-based New York Historical, said the organization’s education department was in the process of revising its citizenship test course to adjust to the new curriculum.
Ihle said the organization serves around 2,000 students annually, including through in-person and online instruction as well as study aids such as flash cards and videos
McFadden said the Brooklyn Public Library’s course would stretch to 12 weeks, up from 11, in response to the added demands of the new test. She said some of the new questions focused on the “why” and “how” of American governance.
“For example, why is it important to pay federal taxes?” she asked. “Or what is the importance of the 10th Amendment? Why do we have the president only serve two terms? Why do the Supreme Court justices have a lifetime term?”
According to the USCIS test package, the acceptable responses to the question of why the president only serves two terms include “because of the 22nd Amendment” and “to keep the president from becoming too powerful.”
Another sample test question: “Name one power that is only for the federal government.” The possible answers, according to the USCIS, include the ability to print paper money, mint coins, declare war, create an army, make treaties and set foreign policy.
In addition to the new questions, McFadden said earlier questions had been revised. For example, applicants would be expected to name five of the original 13 American colonies, up from three in the current test.
Carmen Gutierrez, the director of immigration services at Queens Community House, said with the revised test, “it’s not just memorizing answers.”
“They’re trying to get the sense if [applicants] understand the questions and what they’re answering,” Gutierrez said.
She added that the revisions would be easier for students who can “express themselves” in English.
“Some of our students, they have a limited understanding of English so it will be difficult for them to explain an answer,” Gutierrez said.
Despite the hurdles, McFadden said she felt “really good” about students’ ability to tackle the changes.
“I have been working with naturalization applicants for a very long time,” she said. “They are always very diligent.”
The new test will be administered to those who applied for citizenship after Oct. 20 this year.
