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A graphic that explains the complicated path of becoming a citizen, including the enormous wait times. 

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The past two weeks, we have focused on learning about how refugees differ from other immigrants and migrants. We listened to and read stories about refugees.

We also learned how immigrants become citizens, which included learning the definition of bureaucracy.

The culmination was for students to make Happy Citizenship Day cards and then go to a naturalization ceremony. Students got to hear the oath new citizens take and then welcome them as new permanent members of the country. You can click through this padlet to see samples of students' work, pictures of the ceremony, an amazing Moth story that I highly recommend, and more.

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Click on the link below the flag to see cards being made, sample cards, and pictures from the naturalization ceremony.

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Click on the link below the flag to see cards being made, sample cards, and pictures from the naturalization ceremony.

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https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1RS6Gw2gYHMmhdfN472TckgagZ_9dt_Ga?usp=drive_link

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In simple terms, bureaucracy refers to a system of managing an organization, whether it's a government or a large company, through structured rules and procedures. It involves a hierarchical structure, specialized roles, and standardized processes, often resulting in paperwork and approvals. While intended to ensure efficiency and fairness, bureaucracy can sometimes lead to delays and frustration due to its rigid nature.

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This is a sample test to help immigrants practice for their civics test. There are 20 questions (which vary if you take the test multiple times). Can you pass the test? (Note that although it says 2008, the test has been updated to reflect 2025 politicians.)

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The 2008 civics practice test is a study tool to help you test your knowledge of U.S. history and government. Use this online tool in English to prepare for the civics portion of the naturalization test. The civics practice test is also available in Spanish, but please note that the actual test is in English.

This practice test contains 20 questions.

What to Expect During the Real Test

The actual civics test is NOT a multiple choice test. During the naturalization interview, a USCIS officer will ask you up to 10 questions from the list of 100 questions in English. You must answer correctly 6 of the 10 questions to pass the civics test.

Certain applicants, because of their age and time as a lawful permanent resident, are exempt from the English requirements for naturalization and may take the civics test in the language of their choice. For more information, see our Exceptions and Accommodations page.

Tips for Studying

On the naturalization test, some answers may change because of elections or appointments. As you study for the test, make sure that you know the most current answers to the questions. Answer these questions with the name of the official who is serving at the time of your eligibility interview with USCIS. The USCIS officer will not accept an incorrect answer.

The instructions and content in this practice civics test are not intended to provide legal advice or guarantee that you will pass the civics test during your naturalization interview. If you have any questions, visit the Find Help in Your Community page.

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Welcome to the 2008 Civics Practice Test!

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The 2008 civics practice test is a study tool to help you test your knowledge of U.S. history and government. Use this online tool in English to prepare for the civics portion of the naturalization test. The civics practice test is also available in Spanish, but please note that the actual test is in English.

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Here is the study guide for the test immigrants must pass to become US citizens. 

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Here is the study guide for the test immigrants must pass to become US citizens. 

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Before your naturalization interview, study for the English and civics test by using our free resources to help you prepare.
English Test Overview
For the English portion of the naturalization test you must demonstrate an understanding of the English language, including the ability to read, write, and speak basic English.

Your ability to speak and understand English will be determined by a USCIS officer during your eligibility interview on Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.

For the reading test, you must read out loud one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to read in English.

For the writing test, you must write one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to write in English.

Civics Test (2008 Version)
The civics portion of the naturalization test is an oral test. The USCIS officer will ask you up to 10 questions from the list of 100 civics test questions. You must answer 6 questions correctly to pass the civics test.

For more information, refer to the USCIS Policy Manual Volume 12, Part E, English and Civics Testing and Exceptions, Chapter 2, English and Civics Testing
65/20 Special Consideration
If you are 65 years old or older and have been living in the United States as a lawful permanent resident of the United States for 20 or more years, you may study just the 20 questions that have been marked with an asterisk (*). You may also take the naturalization test in the language of your choice. For more information, see exceptions and accommodations or the USCIS Policy Manual Citizenship and Naturalization Guidance.

Note: On the naturalization test, some answers may change because of elections or appointments. You must answer the question with the name of the official serving at the time of your naturalization interview. For the answers to these specific questions, please visit the Civics Test Updates page.

Sign up to receive Citizenship Resource Center email updates.

Search below for civics flash cards, interactive practice tests, study booklets, videos and more. You may purchase USCIS products and publications from the U.S. Government Bookstore.

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Before your naturalization interview, study for the English and civics test by using our free resources to help you prepare. English Test Overview For the Engli

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After learning about the process immigrants go through to apply for and then become citizens, we went to see a naturalization ceremony. Students made cards to hand out to 104 new citizens. You can read their reactions if you click on the flag above.

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These are a sample of students' reactions to reading stories on the United Nations Refugee Program's website:

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These are a sample of students' reactions to reading stories on the United Nations Refugee Program's website:

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Something interesting I learned was the difference between a migrant and a refugee, which is that a migrant can return home safely, but a refugee needs to leave in order to be safe. This is important because now I will know the difference between them if I’m listening to the news.

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Something I learned is what a stateless person is. Prior to this assignment, I had not heard of a stateless person, though I’m not surprised they exist. I learned a stateless person is someone who is denied citizenship and a nationality. In many cases, they are prevented from doing things like seeing a doctor, going to school, getting a job and getting married. I found this interesting because I know that people are often denied citizenship in a new country, but I didn’t quite realize that someone might not have citizenship in any country, but I understand how that could happen. I picked this fact because I think it’s important to know that there are people out there who don’t have citizenship in any place and cannot do things that should be rights, such as marriage or getting an education.

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Something that interested me was all the different categories that someone could fall under, as a migrant. This surprised me because, while I there may be one action being done, there are many reasons people would leave such as having there home removed and being displaced(IDP), and there are many other reasons just like this that people are forced into a new country, the reason this surprised me was because prior to these classes I just put all migrants under the category of someone who just left, and had never really thought of why they leave. As of this class I have learned not only that there are different reasons people leave, but there are many different reasons people leave, all with there own terms, and based on what category they fall under they will receive different treatments.

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I learned that a stateless person is someone who is not a citizen of any country. Because they do not have a nationality, they are many times denied the rights to education, marriage, and healthcare. I was surprised that someone could be in that situation, because I thought that in order to lose citizenship in one country, you had to get one in another.

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Something of interest that I learned from the UNHCR webquest was just the vast majority of displaced people and refugees there all worldwide. It is interesting to me how UNHCR said part of their mission as an organization is to help people that have been displaced find a way back to their country of origin years or decades later. I think that I had never really thought about the aftermath of displacement in quite that way, thinking about the return journey that some people want to/have to make back. I think that, obviously, refugees have a tie to their home country, whether that be negative, positive, or more likely a mixture of both, but it had never really occurred to me to think about some people and/or families going back to where they had been displaced from decades later.

Over the weekend, I was reading one of Tracey Kidder’s books, in which the protagonist is from Burundi, and ends up (through a long and dangerous journey) in New York City. Whenever he can, Deo tries to find out news about what is going on in Burundi, and how he can help people still there. I guess this should have been obvious to me, that refugees all feel different about their home country, but this story and a couple of the ones I read on the UNHCR web page highlighted this point in a really compelling way.

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There are almost double the number of IDPs as refugees and asylum seekers combined. I find this really interesting because before this class I never really thought about the people being displaced within their country, and I certainly did not know that there was a name for it. I feel like it makes it even crazier that countries are saying that they have too many refugees, when there are people that can’t even make it out of their country to be a refugee at all.

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Something interesting I learned is that there are around 122 million displaced people around the world. I knew that the number of people would be high, but I never knew that it would be that high. Learning this number really opened my eyes to the scale of how many people are displaced.

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I learned that the Syrian refugee women speaking out against the Assad regime, a dystopian leadership, are being tortured and killed for it, and many are being forcibly abducted and detained for their opinions about Syria’s turmoil. These women have fled to many different places, including the UK, to assure their own safety while still fighting for what’s right.

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I learned that an IDP is someone who has to flee their home but stay in the same country/their home country. It was interesting to me that these people are among the most vulnerable “displaced persons” in the world. They must rely on their government to protect them, and apparently the government doesn't protect them enough from danger.

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I learned what a stateless person is. Now I know that a stateless person is someone who doesn’t have citizenship in any country. I also know some of the challenges they might face because of this, like being denied the right to a nationality, not allowed to go to school, go to the doctor, get a job, or get married. They’re also at a high risk of abuse or exploitation. This was interesting because before I didn’t know that you could be a stateless person.

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I learned about what it means to be a stateless person, which is something that I had never heard of before. I was surprised at how the graph we looked at showed that there are so many people experiencing statelessness, and I am glad I learned about it because it seems like a very important issue.

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Something I found interesting is that I learned what an Internally displaced person is. I had no idea what it was before your class. I also didn’t know in 2024 that there were so many Internally displaced people.  I also find it really fascinating what UNHCR does, and how long UNHCR has been around. I expected it to be something that was created recently.

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One thing of interest I learned is that the UNHCR was created in 1950 by the General Assembly to assist survivors of World War II in finding new housing after the conflict had destroyed residences. The UNHCR additionally operates in 136 countries and provides support to Internally Displaced Persons as well as refugees fleeing crisis or instability. This is interesting because I did not know much about the founding of the agency until I did the assignment in class. I liked learning about the agency and enjoyed the classwork.

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Something of interest that I learned was that some people do not have citizenship anywhere. This mainly surprised me, as I thought you would always at least have citizenship in the place where you were born. I am wondering how you would lose that citizenship and end up in this case.

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One thing I found interesting was that in South Sudan, when funds were cut when USAID was closed by the Trump administration, many schools shut down. Some of the teachers still tried to teach even though they got no pay. I think that is really impressive and stands up. They wanted to help and educate the community even though they got low pay and now when they get no pay they still teach.

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I didn’t know that there are so many places that people need to seek refuge from. I guess I only thought of some places like Africa because that is where I hear most about things like poverty happening. I also learned that it is a lot of people who go through things like this.

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Unusual Normality: Introduction to Refugees

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Unusual Normality: Introduction to Refugees

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We listed to this 20 minute story told by a refugee from Siera Leone. He went from being a child soldier to attending the UN High School in Manhattan. I highly recommend listening to this story - so well told and both poingant and funny.

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Ishmael Beah | Unusual Normality | New York City Mainstage 2015

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Students worked individually, reading three different stories about UNHCR and its work around the world. They then shared their findings, learning about many different places and people.

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Students worked in pairs to answer basic facts about the UNHCR, refugees, internally displaced persons, and asylum seekers.