Beginning on October 20, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will put in place a new policy that makes it harder for green card holders to become US citizens. The revisions will have an effect on both the civics test for naturalization and the standards used to judge an applicant’s “good moral character.”
Civics Test That Is Harder
Everyone who files their Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, on or after October 20, 2025, will have to take the new naturalization civics test, which is called the 2025 naturalization civics test.
More Difficult: The new test is an oral exam with 20 questions taken from a set of 128 civics test questions.
To pass, a candidate must get 12 out of 20 questions right. If an applicant gets 9 of the 20 questions wrong, they will fail.
In the last test, applicants just had to get 6 out of 10 questions right. The new test has twice as many questions, and the passing score is higher.
Exceptions for Seniors: There will still be special rules for people who are 65 or older and have been green card holders for at least 20 years. These people will still just need to get 6 out of 10 questions right.
People who apply will have two chances to pass the test. If they fail a second time, their application for citizenship will be denied.
More strict review of “Good Moral Character”
Along with the new test, USCIS will also be looking more closely at an applicant’s “good moral character.” This change puts more emphasis on whether applicants have actively contributed to American culture, not just stayed out of trouble.
Broader Investigation: USCIS investigators can now choose to look more closely at an applicant’s behavior. The agency might even bring back “neighborhood investigations,” which were mostly stopped in 1991.
Third-Party Input: USCIS officials might talk to employers, coworkers, and community members to get information and judge an applicant’s character during these investigations.
Matthew Tragesser, a spokeswoman for USCIS, defended the revisions by saying, “American citizenship is the most sacred citizenship in the world… The American people can be guaranteed that only aliens who meet all of the conditions will be allowed to become citizens. This will make sure that they are completely integrated and will help make America great.
The government has said that these adjustments are part of an ongoing effort to “restore integrity to the naturalization process.” They also said that more modifications to the citizenship process could be announced in the coming months.