Ready To Take The Naturalization Test After Applying For Us Citizenship?

By Author: Nancy Mervin
Total Articles: 56
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The acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth is Naturalization. A foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) is granted U.S. citizenship by the Naturalization process.

Generally the applicant should hold a legal status as a full-time resident for a minimum period of time and that the applicant promise to obey and uphold that country's laws, to which an oath or pledge of allegiance is sometimes added and the basic requirements for naturalization.

The initial parameters on naturalization were set by the Naturalization Act of 1795: "free, White persons" who had been resident for five years or more. Part of the Alien and Sedition Acts, the Naturalization Act of 1798, the residency requirement was extended from five to fourteen years and was passed by the Federalists. The immigrants who were involved in Democratic-Republican Party politics, specifically Irish and French, were targeted. In 1802 it was repealed.

Honorably discharged Army ...
... veterans of any war were allowed to petition for naturalization, according to an 1862 law, after only one year of residence in the United States without having filed a declaration of intent. Honorably discharged 5-year veterans of the Navy or Marine Corps were extended the same privilege as per an 1894 law. Under an act of May 9, 1918 over 192,000 aliens were naturalized between May 9, 1918, and June 30, 1919. Preferential treatment provisions for veterans continued by laws enacted in 1919, 1926, 1940, and 1952.

All persons born in the U.S., and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens regardless of race with passage of the Fourteenth Amendment. Initially Citizenship by birth in the United States was not granted to Asians until 1898, when the Supreme Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment did apply to Asians born in the United States in United States v. Wong Kim Ark.

Today to apply for US citizenship lawful permanent resident aliens minimum 18 years of age should have resided in the U.S. for at least five years, unless they continue to be married to a U.S. citizen, in which case they can apply after three years of permanent residency.
As part of the process of applying for US citizenship applicants need to take up a naturalization test after filing Form N-400.

A USCIS Officer will ask you questions during naturalization interview about your application and background. Unless you qualify for an exemption or waiver, you will also take an English and civics test. The English test consists of three components viz., reading, writing, and speaking. Important U.S. history and government topics are covered by the civics test

Speaking Test

During your eligibility interview on Form N-400, Application for Naturalization your ability to speak English will be determined by a USCIS Officer.

Reading Test

To demonstrate an ability to read in English you must read one out of three sentences correctly.

Writing Test

To demonstrate an ability to write in English you must write one out of three sentences correctly.

Civics Test

On the naturalization test there are 100 civics questions. You will be asked up to 10 questions from the list of 100 questions during your naturalization interview. To pass the civics test you must answer correctly at least six (6) of the 10 questions. Each applicant has two opportunities to take the English and civics tests. You will be retested on the portion of the test that you failed within 90 days if you fail any portion of the test during your first interview.

Study material as a multilingual DVD subtitled in Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean is designed to help you pass the U.S. Citizenship & Naturalization test. Tips by experts on the new test redesigned as of October 1st 2008 and interactive guide on U.S. history, civics & English are also covered in the DVD.