US Announces Minimum Score Foreigners Need To Pass Citizenship Test

• USCIS announced updated rules for the 2025 Naturalisation Civics Test, which applies to Form N-400 applicants from October 20, 2025
• The new civics test consists of 20 oral questions drawn from a pool of 128, raising the standard candidates must meet
• Applicants must answer at least 12 of 20 questions correctly to pass, with officers stopping the test the moment either threshold is crossed

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced the exact score foreign nationals must achieve to pass the American citizenship civics test, giving prospective citizens a defined target as they prepare for their naturalisation interviews.

The updated rules apply to all applicants who submitted Form N-400, Application for Naturalisation, on or after 20 October 2025.

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How the 2025 civics test works

Unlike a written examination, the 2025 Naturalisation Civics Test is conducted entirely as an oral session.

A USCIS officer poses questions verbally, and the applicant must respond in kind before a decision is recorded.

During each session, the examining officer selects 20 questions from an official pool of 128, covering topics that include American history, principles of democracy, the structure of government, and the rights and responsibilities of citizens. To pass, a candidate must answer at least 12 of those 20 questions correctly.

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The test does not always run to its full length. Officers are instructed to stop asking questions the moment a candidate crosses either boundary.

A candidate who answers 12 questions correctly at any point in the session is immediately recorded as having passed.

Equally, any candidate who accumulates nine incorrect answers is recorded as having failed, regardless of how many questions remain. In practice, this means no applicant will be asked all 20 questions if either outcome is reached beforehand.

What candidates need to prepare

Because the 20 questions put to each applicant are drawn from a larger bank of 128, USCIS advises all N-400 filers to study the complete question list thoroughly before attending their naturalisation interview. There is no way for a candidate to know in advance which specific 20 questions will be selected for their session.

USCIS has made the full set of 128 civics questions publicly available to support preparation. The topics span the founding principles of American democracy, the branches and functions of government, key moments in United States history, and the obligations that accompany citizenship.

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The agency has urged applicants to treat the entire question bank as fair game and to avoid narrowing their preparation to a subset of topics, given that the selection process during the interview is not disclosed to candidates beforehand.

US revokes 175,000 visas under Trump

In a related development, YEN.com.gh reported that the United States has cancelled more than 175,000 visas held by foreign nationals since President Donald Trump returned to power for his second term.

The department said the revocations covered a broad set of circumstances, including individuals who violated their visa conditions or committed crimes on American soil.

Source: YEN.com.gh