New US Citizenship Test Focuses on Government and History

The following article is from OJornal.com.

As of Wednesday [Oct. 1, 2008], U.S. citizenship applicants will have to learn more about recent American history and patriotism to correctly answer questions like "Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?" and "What major event happened on September 11, 2001, in the United States?"
      
These questions are part of the 100 that make up the new civics test. Applicants must answer correctly six of the 10 questions they will be quizzed on out of the 100 at the citizenship interview.
      
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) says the major aim of the new civics test is to effectively assess whether applicants have a meaningful understanding of U.S. government and history rather than just memorization of facts.
      
Helena Marques, executive director of the Immigrants' Assistance Center in New Bedford, Mass., whose agency receives on average 150 inquiries a month about U.S. citizenship, admits she has never been very supportive of the redesigned test.
      
"It's more confusing because of the technicality of the words used and it is more extensive," she said. "It's going to take some time to get used to it. Right now, there is still this fear of the unknown."

 Individuals who filed their citizenship application before Oct. 1, 2008 and are scheduled for a naturalization interview before Oct. 1, 2009 will have the choice to take the previous test or the new one, according to USCIS. If the applicant fails the initial exam, the re-test will be given in the same version as the one taken during the initial examination.
      
Starting Oct. 1, 2009, all candidates must take the redesigned test.
      
Some individuals are eligible to take the new civics test in their own native language, as long as they bring their own translator to the interview.
      
Anyone who is 50 years old or older and has been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, has that option, as well as individuals who are at least 55 years old and have been a green card holder for at least 15 years.
      
Anyone who is 65 years and has been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years can take a simplified civics test and only have to study 20 questions.

source:  OJornal.com

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