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Typical Citizenship Examination Questions

In the U.S. citizenship application process, after you have filed your naturalization application package, if you meet the requirements the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will schedule you for an interview. During the interview, the examiner will test your English reading and writing skills by giving you a simple dictation test. You will also have to sign your name in English. If you are physically unable to read or write or are at least 50 years old and have lived in the United States as a permanent legal resident for at least twenty years, you do not have to take the literacy examination.

The examiner will also ask you some questions about the U.S. system of government and history to confirm that you have basic knowledge of these subjects. From the USCIS, below are questions you can expect to be asked, followed by the answers to those questions.

For more information, see FindLaw's Citizenship Test and Naturalization Process sections. The official questions on the citizenship test change frequently. The following questions are provided as a representative sample of the sort of questions commonly asked, but the most up-to-date list of questions and other study materials can be found at the USCIS website.


  1. What is the supreme law of the land?
    the Constitution
  2. What does the Constitution do?
    sets up the government
    ▪ defines the government
    ▪ protects basic rights of Americans
    We the People
  4. What is an amendment?
    a change (to the Constitution)
    ▪ an addition (to the Constitution)
    the Bill of Rights
    ▪ religion
    ▪ assembly
    ▪ press
    ▪ petition the government
  7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
    twenty-seven (27)
  8. What did the Declaration of Independence do?
    ▪ announced our independence (from Great Britain)
    ▪ declared our independence (from Great Britain)
  9. What are two rights in the Declaration of Independence?
    ▪ life
    ▪ liberty
    ▪ pursuit of happiness
  10. What is freedom of religion?
  11. What is the economic system in the United States?
    ▪ capitalist economy
    ▪ market economy
  12. What is the “rule of law”?
    ▪ Everyone must follow the law.
    ▪ Leaders must obey the law.
    ▪ Government must obey the law.
    ▪ No one is above the law.
  13. Name one branch or part of the government.
    ▪ Congress
    ▪ legislative
    ▪ President
    ▪ executive
    ▪ the courts
    ▪ judicial
    ▪ checks and balances
    ▪ separation of powers
  15. Who is in charge of the executive branch?
    ▪ the President
  16. Who makes federal laws?
    ▪ Congress
    ▪ Senate and House (of Representatives)
    ▪ (U.S. or national) legislature
    ▪ the Senate and House (of Representatives)
  18. How many U.S. Senators are there?
    ▪ one hundred (100)
    ▪ six (6)
  21. The House of Representatives has how many voting members?
    ▪ four hundred thirty-five (435)
    ▪ two (2)
  23. Name your U.S. Representative.
    no (voting) Representatives in Congress.]
  24. Who does a U.S. Senator represent?
    ▪ all people of the state
    ▪ (because of) the state’s population
    ▪ (because) they have more people
    ▪ (because) some states have more people
  26. We elect a President for how many years?
    ▪ four (4)
  27. In what month do we vote for President?
    ▪ November
    ▪ Donald J. Trump
    ▪ Donald Trump
    ▪ Trump
    ▪ Michael R. Pence
    ▪ Mike Pence
    ▪ Pence
    ▪ the Vice President
    ▪ the Speaker of the House
  32. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military?
    ▪ the President
  33. Who signs bills to become laws?
    ▪ the President
  34. Who vetoes bills?
    ▪ the President
  35. What does the President’s Cabinet do?
    ▪ advises the President
  36. What are two Cabinet-level positions?
    ▪ Secretary of Agriculture
    ▪ Secretary of Commerce
    ▪ Secretary of Defense
    ▪ Secretary of Education
    ▪ Secretary of Energy
    ▪ Secretary of Health and Human Services
    ▪ Secretary of Homeland Security
    ▪ Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
    ▪ Secretary of the Interior
    ▪ Secretary of Labor
    ▪ Secretary of State
    ▪ Secretary of Transportation
    ▪ Secretary of the Treasury
    ▪ Secretary of Veterans Affairs
    ▪ Attorney General
    ▪ Vice President
  37. What does the judicial branch do?
    ▪ reviews laws
    ▪ explains laws
    ▪ resolves disputes (disagreements)
    ▪ decides if a law goes against the Constitution
  38. What is the highest court in the United States?
    ▪ the Supreme Court
  39. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
    ▪ nine (9)
    ▪ John Roberts (John G. Roberts, Jr.)
    ▪ to print money
    ▪ to declare war
    ▪ to create an army
    ▪ to make treaties
    ▪ provide schooling and education
    ▪ provide protection (police)
    ▪ provide safety (fire departments)
    ▪ give a driver’s license
    ▪ approve zoning and land use
  43. Who is the Governor of your state now?
  44. What is the capital of your state?
    ▪ Democratic and Republican
  46. What is the political party of the President now?
    ▪ Republican (Party)
    ▪ Paul D. Ryan
    ▪ (Paul) Ryan
    ▪ A male citizen of any race (can vote).
    ▪ serve on a jury
    ▪ vote in a federal election
  50. Name one right only for United States citizens.
    ▪ vote in a federal election
    ▪ run for federal office
    ▪ freedom of expression
    ▪ freedom of speech
    ▪ freedom of assembly
    ▪ freedom to petition the government
    ▪ freedom of religion
    ▪ the right to bear arms
    ▪ the United States
    ▪ the flag
    ▪ give up loyalty to other countries
    ▪ defend the Constitution and laws of the United States
    ▪ obey the laws of the United States
    ▪ serve in the U.S. military (if needed)
    ▪ be loyal to the United States
    ▪ eighteen (18) and older
    ▪ vote
    ▪ join a political party
    ▪ help with a campaign
    ▪ join a civic group
    ▪ join a community group
    ▪ give an elected official your opinion on an issue
    ▪ call Senators and Representatives
    ▪ publicly support or oppose an issue or policy
    ▪ run for office
    ▪ write to a newspaper
    ▪ April 15
  57. When must all men register for the Selective Service?
    ▪ at age eighteen (18)
  58. What is one reason colonists came to America?
    ▪ freedom
    ▪ political liberty
    ▪ religious freedom
    ▪ economic opportunity
    ▪ practice their religion
    ▪ escape persecution
  59. Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived?
    ▪ American Indians
    ▪ Native Americans
    ▪ Africans
    ▪ people from Africa
  61. Why did the colonists fight the British?
    ▪ because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
    ▪ because they didn’t have self-government
  62. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
    ▪ (Thomas) Jefferson
  63. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?
    ▪ July 4, 1776
  64. There were 13 original states. Name three.
    ▪ New Hampshire
    ▪ Massachusetts
    ▪ Rhode Island
    ▪ Connecticut
    ▪ New York
    ▪ New Jersey
    ▪ Pennsylvania
    ▪ Delaware
    ▪ Maryland
    ▪ Virginia
    ▪ North Carolina
    ▪ South Carolina
    ▪ Georgia
  65. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
    ▪ The Constitution was written.
    ▪ The Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution.
  66. When was the Constitution written?
    ▪ 1787
    ▪ (James) Madison
    ▪ (Alexander) Hamilton
    ▪ (John) Jay
    ▪ Publius
  68. What is one thing Benjamin Franklin is famous for?
    ▪ U.S. diplomat
    ▪ oldest member of the Constitutional Convention
    ▪ first Postmaster General of the United States
    ▪ writer of “Poor Richard’s Almanac”
    ▪ started the first free libraries
  69. Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
    ▪ (George) Washington
  70. Who was the first President?
    ▪ (George) Washington
    ▪ the Louisiana Territory
    ▪ Louisiana
    ▪ War of 1812
    ▪ Mexican-American War
    ▪ Civil War
    ▪ Spanish-American War
    ▪ the Civil War
    ▪ the War between the States
  74. Name one problem that led to the Civil War.
    ▪ slavery
    ▪ economic reasons
    ▪ states’ rights
  75. What was one important thing that Abraham Lincoln did?
    ▪ freed the slaves (Emancipation Proclamation)
    ▪ saved (or preserved) the Union
    ▪ led the United States during the Civil War
  76. What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?
    ▪ freed the slaves
    ▪ freed slaves in the Confederacy
    ▪ freed slaves in the Confederate states
    ▪ freed slaves in most Southern states
  77. What did Susan B. Anthony do?
    ▪ fought for women’s rights
    ▪ fought for civil rights
    ▪ World War I
    ▪ World War II
    ▪ Korean War
    ▪ Vietnam War
    ▪ (Persian) Gulf War
  79. Who was President during World War I?
    ▪ (Woodrow) Wilson
    ▪ (Franklin) Roosevelt
    ▪ Japan, Germany, and Italy
    ▪ World War II
    ▪ Communism
  84. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
    ▪ civil rights (movement)
  85. What did Martin Luther King, Jr. do?
    ▪ fought for civil rights
    ▪ worked for equality for all Americans
    ▪ Terrorists attacked the United States.
  87. Name one American Indian tribe in the United States.
    ▪ Cherokee
    ▪ Navajo
    ▪ Sioux
    ▪ Chippewa
    ▪ Choctaw
    ▪ Pueblo
    ▪ Apache
    ▪ Iroquois
    ▪ Creek
    ▪ Blackfeet
    ▪ Seminole
    ▪ Cheyenne
    ▪ Arawak
    ▪ Shawnee
    ▪ Mohegan
    ▪ Huron
    ▪ Oneida
    ▪ Lakota
    ▪ Crow
    ▪ Teton
    ▪ Hopi
    ▪ Inuit
    ▪ Missouri (River)
    ▪ Mississippi (River)
    ▪ Pacific (Ocean)
    ▪ Atlantic (Ocean)
  91. Name one U.S. territory.
    Puerto Rico
    ▪ U.S. Virgin Islands
    ▪ American Samoa
    ▪ Northern Mariana Islands
    ▪ Guam
  92. Name one state that borders Canada.
    ▪ Maine
    ▪ New Hampshire
    ▪ Vermont
    ▪ New York
    ▪ Pennsylvania
    ▪ Ohio
    ▪ Michigan
    ▪ Minnesota
    ▪ North Dakota
    ▪ Montana
    ▪ Idaho
    ▪ Washington
    ▪ Alaska
  93. Name one state that borders Mexico.
    ▪ California
    ▪ Arizona
    ▪ New Mexico
    ▪ Texas
  94. What is the capital of the United States?
    ▪ Washington, D.C.
  95. Where is the Statue of Liberty?
    ▪ New York (Harbor)
    ▪ Liberty Island
  96. Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
    ▪ because there were 13 original colonies
    ▪ because the stripes represent the original colonies
  97. Why does the flag have 50 stars?
    ▪ because there is one star for each state
    ▪ because each star represents a state
    ▪ because there are 50 states
  98. What is the name of the national anthem?
    ▪ The Star-Spangled Banner
  99. When do we celebrate Independence Day?
    ▪ July 4
  100. Name two national U.S. holidays.
    ▪ New Year’s Day
    ▪ Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
    ▪ Presidents’ Day
    ▪ Memorial Day
    ▪ Independence Day
    ▪ Labor Day
    ▪ Columbus Day
    ▪ Veterans Day
    ▪ Thanksgiving
    ▪ Christmas

Questions About Becoming a U.S. Citizen? Talk to an Attorney

Looking at all these questions lumped together can be downright overwhelming. While you need to put in the time and study to become a citizen, there's more to it than just passing an exam. It's a good idea to get in touch with a local immigration attorney to learn about immigration laws and how they apply to your case.



Or contact an attorney near you:

Next Steps

Contact a qualified immigration attorney to help you with the citizenship process.

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