“The most sacred citizenship in the world”
Trump government makes naturalization test more difficult
09/17/2025 – 6:51 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
If you want to become a US citizen, you will have to prepare for more questions and stricter guidelines in the future. The Trump government ensures this.
The US government under President Donald Trump has tightened the naturalization test for foreigners. As the US immigration authority announced on Wednesday, a new version of the test will be introduced from mid-October 2025. It is based on the version introduced in 2020 under Trump’s first term, which was abolished by his successor Joe Biden in 2021.
The new guidelines provide for applicants to answer up to 20 questions from an extended questionnaire, which now includes 128 points. At least 12 correct answers are required to pass. Previously, only ten were asked from a catalog of 100 questions, six of which had to be correct. It is also new that the test can be canceled as soon as an applicant has either answered 12 answers correctly or nine incorrectly.
According to Uscis, the background of the reform is a “better assessment of the knowledge of the applicants about the history and the government of the United States”.
In terms of content, the naturalization test remains an oral examination that queries fundamental knowledge of US history, politics and state studies. The USCIS emphasizes that the questions cover topics that are fundamental to understanding American society. Among the 128 possible questions are, for example:
The spokesman for the USCIS, Matthew Tragesser, told the US news portal “Daily Signal”: “American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world and should only be reserved for foreigners that fully accept our values and principles as a nation.”
According to Usci’s reforms, reforms in naturalization procedures have been initiated since Trump’s office in January. This includes stricter exams for exceptions to the English or knowledge test, for example, due to disabilities and a more thorough review procedure as a whole.
In the future, applicants should not only convince through the lack of criminal misconduct, but also by the proof of a “good moral character” and positive social contributions. Illegal voting, incorrect information on US citizenship or illegal electoral registration should be considered exclusion criteria.
According to USCIS, more than 94 percent of applicants passed the naturalization test in 2024. The possibility of completing the test in a language other than English only remains in narrow exceptional cases, for example in older or long -standing applicants.
