The Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, for its acronym in English) announced this Monday that it will use the old version of the test to obtain citizenship, thus changing the order of former President Donald Trump, who modified the questionnaire , had gotten longer and longer. difficult.
Hundreds of activists had criticized the version imposed by the former president, saying it was not only confusing but complex for those learning English. Also accused of eliminating simple geographic questions and contained questions about the rights of the states, the Supreme Court, the electoral system and the Vietnam War, which could mislead applicants.
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Between the differences between the two tests excel:
- The Trump administration investigation, which began to be applied to petitions filed since December 1, required to answer 12 of the 20 questions correctly from a list of 128 possible questions.
- The 2008 questionnaire, which will come back into effect on March 1 at the behest of Biden, requires six correct answers from 10 questions out of a list of 100 possible.
- The Catholic Legal Immigration Network analyzed between the two tests to find that only 40 questions out of the original 100 had no changes from the others; the rest was reformulated or included for the first time in 2020.
- The 2020 version had 18 questions removed from the previous test, 11 of which require simple answers, which can sometimes consist of one word.
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- The 2020 amendment raised a question about the tenth amendment which does not appear in the 2008 version, and which indicates that states will retain powers not expressly devolved to the federal government, in addition to historical events of the Civil War.
- In the exam published in 2008, the questions do not appear, “Why do lawmakers serve only two years in the House of Representatives and can the president serve two terms?” and “Why is it important to serve in the military and pay taxes?” In the 2020 version yes.
- The Trump-imposed version also added to the question “Why did the United States get involved in the Vietnam War?”, in which one can only answer correctly, “Stop the spread of communism.”
- In the 2020 version, there is a question with a significant change in the answer: “Who do the congressmen represent?” While the 2008 questionnaire states that senators serve, for example, “the population of the states,” the correct answer for the 2020 version was “citizens”, disregarding the migrant population.
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- The 2020 change also included a caveat: applicants were required to review the election results to find out the correct answer to who is in the key positions at the time of taking the exam.
- The version imposed in 2020 also required applicants to use the why magistrates have a lifelong mandate and how many are needed for a majority vote.
- Another difference is that in the 2020 version it was necessary to know an example of American innovations, including bobillos, skyscrapers and the arrival on the moon in 1969.
USCIS received approximately 2,500 responses of applicants on the citizenship education for 2020 questionnaire. Several comments focused on the short notice period before implementing the new version, which raised concerns about the short study and preparation time, ”they noted in a statement from the Department of Homeland Security .
“Therefore, and in line with the executive order to restore trust in our immigration justice systems and strengthen integration and inclusion efforts for new Americans, USCIS will return to the test of 2008,” added USCIS.
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The citizenship test is one of the mandatory legal requirements to obtain citizenship. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of historical facts and the structure of the United States government.
Exam applicants who have already scheduled their naturalization exam appointments for April 19 can decide which test to apply as they could have studied for the test implemented last December.
USCIS also clarified that there will be a period in which Candidates can choose between the two versions of the exam, in case they were prepared with the questionnaire that went into effect late last year on behalf of Trump.
The number of cases remaining in this group is unknown, but it would be the cases that applied for citizenship between on December 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021.
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All applicants who have their first naturalization interview after April 19, regardless of when they submitted their application, will undergo the 2008 version of the exam
“The civic integration exam 2008 has been carefully developed over several years with input from more than 150 organizations; including English as second language experts, educators and historians, and was put to the test prior to implementation, ”concluded USCIS.
The 2008 test was published during George W. Bush’s presidency and before Barack Obama came to power.
With information The New York Times.