Your path to citizenship
This site is for lawful permanent residents of the United States, green card holders, who are getting ready for the civics part of the naturalization interview.
Memorizing 128 separate questions is hard. Remembering a story is easier. So instead of a list, this guide tells the history of the United States from beginning to end, and every test answer appears where it happened: Thomas Jefferson in the summer of 1776, the 19th Amendment in 1920, Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Our intention is for you to understand the why behind the what, not simply memorize the right answers to pass the test. When you know why an answer is right, it is much easier to remember in the interview.
- The test. In the interview, the officer asks you civics questions out loud from the official list, and you answer out loud. On the 2025 civics test, the officer asks up to 20 questions and you need 12 correct answers to pass. Search for USCIS to check the rules that apply to your application.
- One answer per question. USCIS accepts more than one answer for most questions. For the sake of simplicity and the flow of the story, we use only the bare minimum needed to answer each question accurately. For the complete list, see the 128 Civics Questions and Answers (2025 version).
- How to read it. Underlined words come from a test question, and the small red number tells you which one. The gold highlight is the answer to give the officer.
- Your state. Four answers depend on where you live: your senators, governor, state capital and representative. The Your state page, just before the answer key, helps you find them.
- Practice the way you will be tested. We also provide a practice quiz that takes typed-in answers instead of multiple choice. This is deliberate: the officer will ask you the questions out loud, and you will have no options to choose from.