Preparing for Your Naturalization Interview

Key Takeaways:

• Preparing for your naturalization interview primarily involves understanding what to expect and practicing for it.
• USCIS provides questions to study before your interview to help you be more prepared.
• Once you pass your interview, you attend a ceremony, take the oath of allegiance and become a U.S. citizen.

You become a U.S. citizen in two ways: through your parents or through naturalization. For many people who didn’t gain citizenship through birth, naturalization is the final step in a many-year citizenship process. The naturalization interview is the final big hurdle. There, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer asks about your naturalization application, evaluates your English-language skills and tests your knowledge of the U.S. government.

Below, we discuss what happens at the naturalization interview, who may be exempt from its requirements, ways to prepare and what happens after the interview. This information may help you during the journey from noncitizen to U.S. citizen.

What happens at the naturalization interview?

A few months after you submit your naturalization application, USCIS typically schedules your naturalization interview at the nearest USCIS field office. At the interview, a USCIS officer will:

• Ask questions about your application and history
• Assess your English proficiency (the English test)
• Test your knowledge of the U.S. government (the civics test)

Interviews usually last 20 to 30 minutes. 

Application questions

When discussing your application, your interviewer has two goals: 1) verify that you provided accurate information and 2) verify that you are eligible to naturalize. If your history includes any of the following, your interviewer may be particularly likely to ask about it:

• Arrests
• Criminal convictions
• Immigration violations
• Moderate time (six months to a year) spent outside the U.S. as an LPR
• Substantial time (one year or longer) spent outside the U.S. as an LPR

Your interviewer will typically also ask questions about you and your life.

English proficiency

The interviewer assesses your English language proficiency with respect to:

• Writing
• Reading
• Speaking
• Understanding 

They test your writing skills by asking you to write up to three sentences in English. At least one must adequately convey the proper meaning of the sentence, even if it contains some errors.

Your interviewer tests your reading ability by having you read up to three sentences out loud. You must adequately convey the meaning of at least one sentence. 

Throughout the interview, they evaluate your ability to speak English and your understanding of what they asked.

To pass, the officer must conclude you can speak, read, write and understand ordinary English. Using ordinary English means comprehending and communicating ideas using simple grammar and vocabulary, not being perfect. If you don’t know what your interviewer has said, you may ask them to repeat themself. 

Civics test

Your interviewer will ask up to 10 questions about the U.S. government. You must answer six correctly to pass. If you correctly answer the first six questions, you pass without answering the last four.

The questions are pulled from a list of 100 questions that cover topics like:

• Principles of American democracy
• The U.S. government system
• Rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship 
• American history in the colonial period, the 1800s and more recently
• American geography, symbols and holidays

Some questions ask for the names of elected officials like:

• The president
• The vice president
• Your state’s senators 
• Your state’s representatives
• The Speaker of the House of Representatives

These answers change over time, so you may need to check that your answer is still accurate before you attend your interview.

Exemptions and accommodations

In specific, limited circumstances, you may qualify for an exemption from one or both parts of the interview test. You may also request your interviewer to reasonably accommodate a disability.

Age-based exemptions

You may be exempt from the English language requirements if you qualify for the 50/20 or 55/15 exceptions. 

• The 50/20 exception applies to lawful permanent residents (LPRs) who are 50 or older when they apply and who’ve lived in the U.S. continuously as LPRs for 20 years. 
• The 55/15 exception applies to LPRs 55 or older who’ve lived in the U.S. as LPRs for 15 years.

If you qualify for an English age-based exemption, you typically still have to pass the civics test, but you may bring an interpreter to your interview. 

However, if you’re 65 or older and have been an LPR for 20 years, you may request special accommodations for the civics test. This means your interviewer may pull from a shorter list of questions.

Combined exemption

You may qualify for an exemption of both the English and the civics test requirements if you’re unable to comply because you have a physical, developmental or mental disability. A doctor must attest that your disability prevents you from meaningfully participating in the interview.

Pro-tip:

The medical exemption is a matter of what you’re capable of. If you could complete the test with accommodations, you typically aren’t exempt.

Disability accommodations

You may request reasonable accommodations related to a disability to help you complete the naturalization process. You may have a disability if you have a physical or mental impairment that is substantially limiting to one or more major life activities.

Major life activities include tasks involved with:

• Bodily care (eating, sleeping and breathing)
• Operation of major bodily functions (circulation, reproduction, individual organs and organ systems)
• Movement (walking, standing, lifting and bending)
• Cognitive functions (thinking, reading, learning and concentrating)
• Sensory functions (seeing, hearing and perceiving)
• Communication (understanding and speaking)

To qualify for accommodations,  your disability must impact your ability to complete the exam. For example, someone in a wheelchair with no cognitive impairments may not qualify for accommodations (beyond a wheelchair-accessible facility). However, someone with ADHD or dyslexia may qualify for special testing conditions.

USCIS may accommodate your disability by, for example: 

• Providing a sign language interpreter
• Providing captioning or assistive listening devices
• Offering the writing portion of the test orally
• Providing a quiet, distraction-free space
• Printing test materials in special fonts
• Allowing extra time to complete the exam

You may apply for accommodations at the time you apply for naturalization or online.

Getting ready for your interview for naturalization

To prepare for your interview for naturalization, study what your interviewer will address: your application and eligibility, your English language skills and your civics answers.

Review your application materials

Your application primarily details your life. While you may think you’ll remember all the answers, reviewing your application materials—especially details about your work, residential and immigration histories—may help you avoid fumbling details about your life. 

Pro-tip:

If part of your application is incorrect or anything has changed, you may ask your interviewer to make corrections. Rather than risking them discovering the errors, bring proof of what’s wrong and ask for changes.

Practicing your English

Although you don’t need perfect English, practicing may help you feel more confident and natural when you speak. (If you feel shaky about your English in a casual setting, consider how you may feel in the stressful test environment.)

Pro-tip:

Libraries, colleges and universities often have programs allowing individuals to practice their language skills. You may attend meetings in person or online where you and a partner or group practice speaking the language you’re learning to each other. You usually practice with native English speakers and other English learners. 

Studying the naturalization interview questions

USCIS provides the full list of civics questions and answers that your naturalization interview questions will be drawn from in many languages. Study those questions and the answers. If you study using a non-English set of questions, transition to the English versions sooner rather than later (unless you’re exempt from the English requirement). This way, you have more time to prepare using the questions as your interviewer will ask them. 

Also check for updates to any questions where the answers might change.

What to bring to a naturalization interview

When you attend your naturalization interview, bring your:

• USCIS interview appointment notice
• Green card
• State-issued photo ID
• Valid and expired travel passports, visas and other travel documents

Also bring a copy of your completed application, including the originals of supporting documents, such as your:

• Marriage certificate (for marriage-based green cards)
• Tax returns (for questions about time spent outside the U.S. or unpaid tax bills)
• Travel documents (for questions about time spent between six months and a year outside the U.S. as an LPR) 

You may bring your spouse or other supporters with you to the office. However, only your lawyer and interpreter may attend the interview with you.

Getting your naturalization interview results

The officer typically tells you your naturalization interview results at the end of the interview. In some circumstances, however, your interviewer may ask you for additional information or documents before they announce your results. 

What happens if you pass

After you pass your naturalization interview, you have one more thing to do: take the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony. You may have the option to attend a ceremony the day of your interview if one happens to be on the calendar already. Otherwise, USCIS will send you a notice scheduling your ceremony.

When you attend the ceremony, you take the Oath of Allegiance, promising to uphold and defend the values of the U.S. Constitution. After you take the oath, you receive your Certificate of Naturalization and are officially a U.S. citizen.

Pro-tip:

Between when you finish your interview and take the oath, you may still be deported. Don’t take unnecessary risks that might call your legal status into question in the interim. When you receive your naturalization certificate, double check that all the information on it is correct, including your name and place/date of birth. 

What happens if you don’t pass

If you don’t pass the naturalization interview, your interviewer tells you why. USCIS should schedule you for a retest of the portion or portions of the test you failed 60 to 90 days after your original interview. You may request an accommodation to help with the retest.

If you still don’t pass, you have to reapply to try again.

How a lawyer can help you attend your naturalization interview with confidence

Naturalization provides many benefits, like stability and expanded opportunities to sponsor others for green cards. The key to acing your naturalization interview is usually thorough preparation, which may include reviewing your application and history. You should also practice your English skills and study the civics questions.

As you prepare, you may want to hire an immigration lawyer. They may help you with your initial application, including reviewing your personal history and identifying potential red flags. They may also prepare you for your interview, especially through practice interviews. They may also attend the interview with you, providing support and protecting your rights during the interview.