A four-week study plan

Twenty minutes a day for four weeks is enough for most people to learn the list well. Longer, rarer sessions work less well. This plan is our own suggestion; adjust it to your time.

Before you start

Confirm which version you take: 2008 or 2025.
If you are 65 or older with 20 years as a permanent resident, you need only the 20 marked questions; this plan then takes one week, not four.
Decide who will quiz you. A spoken test needs spoken practice.

Week 1: how the government works

Study the two government parts on principles and on the system of government. Together they are about half of either list. Read each question, the accepted answers and our note. Choose one answer for each question, the shortest you can say clearly, and underline it. From now on, that is your answer.

End of week check: can you say the numbers without looking? Senators, representatives, justices, amendments, length of each term.

Week 2: rights, and history to 1900

Study rights and responsibilities, then the colonial period and the 1800s. For questions that ask for two, three or five items, fix a set and always say it in the same order. Make a one-page timeline: 1776, 1787, 1803, 1861 to 1865.

Week 3: modern history, symbols and holidays

Study the last parts of the list. The 2025 version has many "Why did the United States enter..." questions with short answers; put them side by side on one card. Pick your one American Indian tribe and, for the 2025 version, your one American innovation.

Week 4: mix, speak, repair

Every day, take a full practice test aloud.
Use the flashcards in shuffle mode and work only on the cards you marked "not yet".
Look up the answers that change and add them to your card.
Have a friend ask questions in a different order, at speaking speed, without showing you the page.

Daily routine, 20 minutes

Five minutes: review yesterday's questions aloud.
Ten minutes: ten new questions. Read, cover the answer, say it, check.
Five minutes: write five of the answers by hand. This doubles as practice for the writing test.

How to know you are ready

You are ready when you can pass the practice test five times in a row with room to spare, that is, reaching the pass mark with no more than two or three wrong, and when no question in the flashcards is still marked "not yet". The official pass mark is 60 percent, but aim for 90 at home. Nerves on the day will take a little away.

Small things that help

Study at the same time each day.
Say answers in full, short sentences when you can: "The president signs bills." It practises English too.
Listen as well as read. USCIS offers audio of the questions on its study pages.
If English is hard for you, check whether an exception applies before you spend months on it.

How to answer: short, exact, aloud All guides

Independent study site. Citizenship Test is not a government website and is not connected with USCIS or any agency. Questions and accepted answers are quoted from the official USCIS lists; the notes are ours. Rules were read on uscis.gov on 12 November 2026. Always confirm with uscis.gov/citizenship before your interview.