Preparing for the US naturalization interview and test

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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has put up a guide and video on preparing for the United States naturalization interview and test.

If you qualify for naturalization, after applying for US citizenship you will receive a notice in the mail with instructions on the date and time of your interview with a USCIS immigration officer.

During the interview, you will take a test on your knowledge of US civics and your ability to speak, understand, read, and write English.

Certain applicants will not have to meet the usual requirements for the knowledge of civics and English test; USCIS takes into account factors such as age and disability.

During the English portion of your test, you will be quizzed on both your reading and writing ability in English. You must answer 1 out of 3 questions correctly to demonstrate your knowledge of English.

The civics portion of the test is composed of 10 questions from a list of 100 questions on topics such as US history and government. You must answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly to pass.

Free materials are available to help you study for the test. For most applicants, passing the test is not that difficult. According to USCIS, the pass rate in June of 2011 was 92 percent.

However, if you should fail the test, you will be given an opportunity to take it again:

"You will be given two opportunities to take the English and civics tests and to answer all questions related to your naturalization application in English," USCIS said.

"If you fail any of the tests during your initial interview, you will be retested on the portion of the test that you failed (English or civics) between 60 and 90 days from the date of your initial interview," they added.

Being able to naturalize and become an US citizen is of great importance to many people. Being prepared for the interview is extremely important! It is only after you have passed the citizenship test that you will be granted US citizenship.