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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a Federal Register notice announcing that 28 more questions were added to the naturalization test.

“One of many steps in an ongoing effort to restore integrity to the naturalization process and meet congressional intent,” USCIS said.

Foreigners who want to become U.S. citizens must “write and speak English and understand U.S. government and civics,” the agency said in a statement.

The civic test originally had 100 questions, making the new total 128 with the announced additions.

What changes from now on?

These are the key points to know:

• The number of questions was increased from 100 to 128.
• During the interview, the immigration officer will ask 20 questions instead of 10.
• To pass, applicants must answer at least 12 out of 20 correctly (previously it was 6 out of 10).
• Some questions were rewritten to be less straight forward.
• There are questions that require longer and more specific answers.

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This is not a new test

During his first term, President Donald Trump updated the 2008 version from 100 to 128 questions and increased the difficulty.

However, in 2021, former President Joe Biden suspended the 2020 exam and reverted to the 2008 format to ease the naturalization process.

The civic exam for U.S. citizenship was created in 2008 during the administration of President George W. Bush.

USCIS is overhauling its Naturalization Civics Test to ensure that citizenship is reserved for aliens who fully embrace our values and principles as a nation.

As a first step, USCIS is publishing the 2025 Naturalization Civics Test, which will better assess an alien’s… pic.twitter.com/HufFgfFrVE

— USCIS (@USCIS) September 17, 2025

Additionally, more changes are expected in the future.

“In the coming weeks and months, USCIS will announce other initiatives to further enhance the integrity of the naturalization process,” the agency said.

According to the release, USCIS has already announced several changes this year, including restoring robust vetting and stricter reviews of disability exceptions to the English and civics requirements.