The US citizenship which is more coveted than space adventure for Indians with legal permanent residency is going to be a little more difficult to obtain for those with low proficiency in English language. Statistically, the United States welcomed more than 7.6 million immigrants as naturalized citizens in the last decade. In fiscal 2022 alone, 967,500 immigrants passed the naturalization test and took the oath as US citizens.
With 6.8% of the total naturalizations in fiscal 2022, India finished second among the five countries whose nationals were absorbed into the great American family as citizens. Precisely, 65790 immigrants from India were naturalized and sworn-in as citizens of the US in the last fiscal. Will this number go up or drop in the next fiscal given the ongoing revision of the US citizenship test?
Picture Credit: Thandora Times
Reportedly, the US naturalization test is undergoing a revision to incorporate new elements – which is likely to go into effect later in fiscal 2024. The upcoming changes to the naturalization test for US citizenship have already raised concerns among immigrants and advocates. A new verbal section is among the most anticipated changes that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services has proposed.
The US citizenship test is being revised for the purpose of assessing the applicants’ verbal proficiency in English the better way than now. In the new verbal communication test, the applicants would be required to verbally describe the visual content of some photos of daily activities. Currently, the applicants’ English-speaking ability is tested during the naturalization interview. An officer asks them some personal questions that they have attempted in the naturalization paperwork.
“My wife is awaiting her naturalization next year. It would be harder for her to explain pictures in impeccable English. Besides, her accent and pronunciation do not match the American way. Having had Telugu as her first language in India, she learned English only after moving to America,” said Abhay Raju to Sourav Agarwal, the Editor of Travel Beats, a one-stop portal for Indian American community news and stories.
Abhay, who was naturalized last year, fears the impact of the proposed addition to the US citizenship test. It’s not only Abhay; but many Indian immigrants think that the new verbal communication section could make elderly applicants feel more nervous during the test as they would fall short of exact English words to describe visual images.
Another highly anticipated change to the naturalization test for US citizenship is intensifying applicants’ worries. The section wherein an applicant’s knowledge of the US history and civics is tested verbally is likely to get a multiple choice format. Currently, an officer asks 10 questions that the applicant answers orally in a short format. US immigration lawyers opine that the multiple choice format would make the applicant read a lot and take them longer to answer the questions than in the oral format.
Precisely, in the current format, the applicant is required to name a war out of the five wars – World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, and Gulf War – that the US had fought in the 1900s. It assesses their comprehensive of the English language and helps understand whether they get the question right. But the assumption is rife that the multiple choice format would require them to read the question and select the correct answer out of 4 to 5 choices, as in the below example:
Name a war that the US fought in the 1990s:
- Civil War
- Mexican-American War
- Korean War
- Spanish American War
They can give the correct answer only if they have an idea of all of the wars that the US fought in the 1900s. It would require them to read and memorize a great deal of the book of 100 civics questions with answers. If the US history and civics section gets a multiple-choice format, the applicant would have to build a good base of knowledge in order to answer at least 6 out of 10 questions correctly. The good thing is that the bank of 100 civics questions is provided to the applicant prior to the citizenship test in the US.
Hence, it is assumed that the proposed changes to the US citizenship test would make it hard for immigrants with low English literacy.