There are quite a few hoops immigrants in the United States have to jump through to become official citizens. One of them is taking the citizenship test, which can be quite challenging to pass. Well, thanks to recent changes to the exam, immigrants in Michigan and elsewhere may find it even more difficult to achieve their citizenship dreams.
According to a recently published report, changes to the naturalization exam were announced back in 2019, but those changes are just now about ready to take effect. The part of the exam that is being modified is the civics portion. More questions will be asked, more topics will be addressed, and the score needed to pass has also been changed. Instead of needing to answer six out of 10 questions correctly, one needs to answer 12 of 20 correctly, and the interviewers have been instructed to ask all questions rather than stopping when the applicant meets the passing score.
While it is expected that the changes to the exam will make it more difficult for the hundreds of thousands of individuals who apply for citizenship in the United States annually to achieve it, modifications to the exam are nothing new. It has been altered many times over the years. It is not clear when the new exam will start being used. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has refused to release a time frame.
The path to citizenship is meant to be challenging. It is not supposed to be impossible, though. To some immigrants residing in Michigan, it may not feel that way, however. Thankfully, no one has to work through the naturalization process alone. An experienced immigration law attorney may be able to help one reach his or her citizenship goals.
