Overview
- The revised rules took effect for N-400 applications filed on or after October 20, with earlier filers remaining on the 2008 exam and a simplified option preserved for applicants aged 65+ with 20 years as permanent residents.
- Applicants now face 20 oral civics questions drawn from a 128-question bank and must answer at least 12 correctly to pass.
- Exams end early once an applicant reaches 12 correct answers or accumulates 9 incorrect responses.
- USCIS says the changes ensure fuller understanding of U.S. civics and a unified national identity, and Director Joe Edlow has said the previous test was “just too easy.”
- Scholars and commentators argue the approved questions and answers show a right-leaning tilt that could favor Trump-friendly applicants.