How is the Real Test?
As of October 20, 2025, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has implemented substantial updates to the naturalization (N-400) process that significantly raise the bar for applicants seeking citizenship. Under the new rules, the civics portion of the test will be more challenging: the question bank has grown, the number of questions asked during the interview has increased, and applicants must now answer more correctly to pass.
In addition, USCIS has sharpened its enforcement of requirements relating to “good moral character,” reintroduced neighborhood & workplace investigations (once waived), and is applying stricter reviews of disability exception claims. Taken together, these changes represent a shift toward greater scrutiny and higher expectations of applicants.
Key rules under the new test (2025)
- There are 128 possible civics questions.
- During the interview, applicants are asked up to 20 questions, randomly chosen from that bank.
- To pass, you must answer at least 12 out of 20 correctly.
- The officer stops asking questions once you either pass (get 12 right) or fail (get 9 wrong).
- There is a special provision for those aged 65+ who have been a permanent resident for 20+ years: they take a smaller question set (10 questions from a subset) and must answer 6 correctly.
Take a practice exam here to test yourself!
Good luck!
