All About American Government

Civics (History and Government) Items for the Redesigned Naturalization Test
Beginning October , 2008, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin implementation of a
redesigned naturalization test. All applicants who file for naturalization on or after October 1, 2008 will be required to
take the redesigned test. For those applicants who file prior to October 1, 2008 but are not interviewed until after
October , 2008 (but before October , 2009), there will be an option of taking the redesigned test or the current one.
Civics (history and government) items from the redesigned naturalization test are found below. Some of the items have
more than one possible answer listed. Although we hope that applicants will learn all the content, applicants will only
be required to give one answer from the list unless the question asks for more than one. An example of a question that
requires more than one of the listed answers is item 36. It asks, “What are two Cabinet-level positions?” In this example,
applicants would be required to tell the adjudicator any two of the listed possible responses.
Applicants for naturalization taking the redesigned test should note that USCIS is aware that the 00 items sometimes
have answers that are not listed here.
AMERICAN GOVERNMENT
A: Principles of American Democracy
1.

What is the supreme law of the land?
▪ the Constitution

2.

What does the Constitution do?
▪ sets up the government
▪ defines the government
▪ protects basic rights of Americans

3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
▪ We the People
4.

What is an amendment?
▪ a change (to the Constitution)
▪ an addition (to the Constitution)

5. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
▪ the Bill of Rights
6.

What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
▪ speech
▪ religion
▪ assembly
▪ press
▪ petition the government

*...