Could You Pass the Citizenship Test?

American citizenship is something you probably take for granted if you were born in the United States. You have what’s called birthright citizenship, meaning your citizenship is automatic.

It’s a different story for immigrants who come to the U.S. and want to become American citizens. They have to work for it.

The U.S. has a long history of welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world, and many of them seek to become citizens. In 2021, 855,000 people completed the lengthy process of becoming naturalized.

You probably take American citizenship for granted if you were born in the United States. You have what’s called birthright citizenship. That means that your citizenship is automatic.

It’s a different story for immigrants who come to the U.S. and want to become American citizens. They have to work for it.

The U.S. has a long history of welcoming immigrants from all parts of the world. Many of them seek to become citizens. In 2021, 855,000 people completed the long process of becoming naturalized.

Applicants for citizenship must have immigrated legally and been permanent residents of the U.S. for five years; must not have committed any serious crimes; and must undergo identity and security checks. They also have to prove they can read, write, and speak basic English.

Finally, they must pass a civics test covering U.S. government, history, geog-raphy, and culture. Applicants are asked 10 questions from a list of 100 and must answer at least 6 correctly to pass.

Now a growing number of states are requiring public high school students to pass a civics test modeled after this citizenship test in order to graduate (see Debate).

How well would you do? Find out by answering these questions from the exam. (The real test has open-ended questions, but we’ve made ours multiple-choice.)

—Patricia Smith

Applicants for citizenship must have immigrated legally and been permanent residents of the U.S. for five years. They also can’t have committed any serious crimes and must undergo identity and security checks. And they have to prove they can read, write, and speak basic English.

Finally, they must pass a civics test. It covers U.S. government, history, geography, and culture. Applicants are asked 10 questions from a list of 100. To pass, they must answer at least six correctly.

Now more states are requiring public high school students to pass a civics test to graduate. It’s modeled after this citizenship test (see Debate).

How well would you do? Find out by answering these questions from the exam. The real test has open-ended questions, but we’ve made ours multiple-choice.

—Patricia Smith