ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The U.S. citizenship test is being updated, and some immigrants and advocates worry the changes will hurt applicants with lower English proficiency levels.
The naturalization test is one of the last steps towards citizenship – a months-long process that requires years of lawful permanent residency before applying.
Many are still reeling after former Republican President Donald Trump’s administration changed the test in 2020, making it longer and harder to pass. Within months, Democratic President Joe Biden took office and signed an executive order to remove barriers to citizenship. With that in mind, the citizenship test reverted to its previous version, which was last updated in 2008.
In December, US authorities said the test needed to be updated after 15 years. The new version is expected by the end of next year.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services is proposing that the new test add a speaking section to assess English skills. An agent would show photos of ordinary scenarios – like daily activities, weather, or food – and ask the applicant to verbally describe the photos.
In the current test, an officer assesses speaking ability at the naturalization interview by asking personal questions that the applicant has already answered in the naturalization papers.
“For me, I think it would be more difficult to look at pictures and explain them,” said Heaven Mehreta, who immigrated from Ethiopia 10 years ago, passed the naturalization test in May and became American citizen from Minnesota in June.
Mehreta, 32, said she learned English as an adult after moving to the United States and found the pronunciation very difficult. She worries that adding a new speaking section based on photos, rather than personal questions, will make the test harder for others like her.
Shai Avny, who immigrated from Israel five years ago and became a US citizen last year, said the new speaking section could also increase the stress test takers are already feeling during the test.
“Sitting next to someone from the federal government, it can be intimidating to talk and speak with them. Some people have this fear anyway. When it’s not your first language, it can be even more difficult. Maybe you’ll be nervous and can’t find the words to tell them what you need to describe,” Avny said. “It’s a test that will determine if you will become a citizen. So there is a lot to lose. »
Another proposed change would make the civics section on United States history and government multiple-choice instead of the current oral short-answer format.
Bill Bliss, an author of citizenship textbooks in Massachusetts, gave an example in a blog post of how the test would become more difficult because it would require a broader knowledge base.
A current civic question has an officer asking the asker to name a war fought by the United States in the 1900s. Korea, Vietnam War or Gulf War – to answer the question properly.
But in the proposed multiple-choice format, the candidate would read this question and select the correct answer from the following choices:
A. Civil War
B. Mexican-American War
C. Korean War
D. Spanish-American War
The candidate must know about the five wars fought by the United States in the 1900s in order to select the correct answer, Bliss said, and this requires a “significantly higher level of language skills and testing skills.”
Currently, the candidate must correctly answer six out of 10 civics questions to pass. These 10 questions are selected from a bank of 100 civic questions. The candidate is not informed which questions will be selected but can see and study the 100 questions before taking the test.
Lynne Weintraub, citizenship coordinator at the Jones Library English as a Second Language Center in Massachusetts, said the proposed format for the civics section could make the citizenship test more difficult for people who have difficulty mastering English. This includes refugees, older immigrants, and people with disabilities that interfere with their test performance.
“We have a lot of refugee students, and they come from war-torn countries where they may not have had a chance to complete their education or even go to school,” said Mechelle Perrott, citizenship coordinator in San Diego. Community College District College of Continuing Education in California.
“It’s harder to learn to read and write if you don’t know how to do it in your native language. This is my main concern about the multiple choice test; it’s a lot of reading,” Perrott said.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a December announcement that the proposed changes “reflect current best practices in test design” and would help standardize the citizenship test.
Under federal law, most citizenship applicants must demonstrate an understanding of the English language – including an ability to speak, read and write commonly used words – and demonstrate knowledge of the history and United States government.
The agency said it would conduct a national trial of the proposed changes in 2023 with opportunities for public comment. Then an external group of experts – in the fields of language acquisition, civics and test development – will review the results of the trial and recommend ways to best implement the proposed changes. , which could enter into force at the end of next year.
According to a USCIS report also released in December.
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Trisha Ahmed is a member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places reporters in local newsrooms to report on underreported issues. Follow Trisha Ahmed on Twitter: @TrishaAhmed15