The Citizenship Test Got Harder. Here’s the New Math.
128 questions, 20 asked, 12 to pass. And the day you filed, not the day of your interview, decides which test you take.
The rule that matters most
The citizenship test changed on October 20, 2025. Which version you take depends on when you filed your N-400, not when you’re interviewed. Filed before October 20, 2025? You take the old test. Filed on or after? You take the new one, even if your interview is a year away.
The new math
Old test: 100 questions to study, up to 10 asked, 6 right to pass. New test: 128 questions to study, up to 20 asked, 12 right to pass. The passing rate is still 60%. What changed is the volume. The officer keeps going until you hit 12 right or 9 wrong.
Study the 100-question list for a 2025-test interview and you’ve prepared for an exam that doesn’t exist anymore.
It’s not just the test
In August 2025, USCIS told officers to look at “good moral character” as a whole, not just whether you have a record. Your whole file is fair game now.
Then in June 2026, DHS proposed raising the online filing fee from $710 to $1,280 and getting rid of fee waivers for low-income applicants. That’s only a proposal for now, but it says where things are headed.
The numbers already show it. The naturalization denial rate went from 8.3% in May 2024 to 18.1% in May 2026, according to an analysis of USCIS data by the National Foundation for American Policy. Average processing went from about 6 months to about 10. Fewer people are applying, more are getting turned down, and everyone waits longer.
What to do
Check your filing date and study the right list: 100 questions if you filed before October 20, 2025, 128 if after. Practice out loud. The test is spoken, so reading silently isn’t practice. Reread your N-400 before the interview and be ready to explain anything in it. Then warm up with our practice quiz and study the official list at uscis.gov, including the questions about who holds office right now.
Sources
Muhammad M. Ali is a 1L law student writing about immigration law, U.S. foreign policy and Pakistan. Read Closely publishes commentary and general information, not legal advice.