USCIS announced on 14 December 2022, with a Federal Register notice the next day, that it would trial changes to the naturalisation test as part of its Naturalization Test Redesign Initiative. The trial was voluntary and run through community organisations, and its results would not count for or against anyone’s application.
Key facts
- What Voluntary trial of a redesigned test
- Speaking Describe three photographs
- Civics 10 multiple-choice questions on a tablet
- Who About 1,500 adult education students
- Outcome Trial cancelled 30 December 2024
What was to be tested
Two parts were in scope. For English speaking, volunteers would describe three colour photographs picked at random from a bank of about 70 everyday scenes such as daily routines, weather and food, with the bank later reduced to about 40. For civics, volunteers would answer ten multiple-choice questions with four options each, shown on a tablet, using updated content. Reading and writing were not included. USCIS aimed to recruit about 1,500 adult education students and tentatively planned a five-month trial in 2023, with the full redesign expected to be ready by late 2024.
The notice also recalled recent history: a revised civics test of 20 questions, with 12 needed to pass, had been announced in November 2020, and USCIS had gone back to the 2008 test in February 2021.
What happened next
USCIS held public engagements through 2023 and received more than 1,300 comments, most of them opposed. On 30 December 2024 it ended the trial and kept the 2008 test.
What this means
None of these trial formats was ever used in real interviews. If you see study material describing a photo task or multiple-choice civics for the US citizenship test, it is out of date. Prepare for an oral civics test and for speaking assessed through your interview, as described on the USCIS interview and test page.