Can you pass a U.S. citizenship test?

[GUN DOG]

I dont remember it costing that much but it was 20 years ago. We did it all at the US Embassy over seas in Saudi. I just walked of the plane in New Yourk with all my paperwork & had my greencard not long after i think, or was it SS # & already had the green card, cant remember now. Well C. Keen you will have to welcome another Canuck to the fold!! out of the great white north.
Sorry TR it was such a PIA the INS office was a PIA when I was getting my citizenship but the green card process was not too bad but we had lots of time.

 

[mightymouse]

Not yet.

 

[Werewolf]

48 of 50 and I think one of the questions about cabinet level secretaries had two correct answers.

 

[Werewolf]

47/50. These kind of citizenship test are a total waste of Resources and time. For the immigrant and our taxes.

Why?

What alternative would you suggest?

 

[Buddhaman]

45/50. Missed the ones one who wrote the Constitution and who wrote the Declaration of Independence. Haven't done much American history stuff in awhile but at least I still passed.

 

[ExtremistPullup]

48/50

the ones I got wrong,

one power of the states, provide schooling and education. I should have known that was a better answer than army.

one of the writers of the constitution.

 

[tRidiot]

Yeah I think I got 46/50, but I know one was a misclick with my mouse... accidentally clicked the wrong button, but it won't let you change your answers. As a matter of fact, up until that point I didn't realize it was grading me as I went along. The answers I clicked just turned green, so I assumed it was only highlighting my answers and would spit out a score at the end. When I misclicked on the one and realized it within a quarter-second (before it even changed color), it wouldn't let me click on the right answer right next to it. Silliness.

I want my other two points!!!!

I know one of the ones I missed was who wrote the Declaration, but I got the Constitution one right. Don't remember the others... it was a pretty good test, yes, I liked it. But remember, people going for citizenship are NOT required to take a test like this one... they do have to know much of this information, but don't do anywhere NEAR this many questions.

At the interview, they are required to:

Answer 6 of 10 verbally-presented questions correctly. (These are similar to the ones on this test)
Read 3 (or 4?) sentences back in English.
Write 3 (or 4?) very simple sentences spoken to them in English.
Answer questions about their life and present the proper paperwork to the examiner to verify.

My wife spent literally dozens of hours going through paperwork in our files (again, we'd been dealing with them for 15 years as a couple, and she did college under a student visa for 5 years prior to that - so we had LOTS of files), organizing things, putting together a single large file with all the paperwork they requested you bring with you to the interview. It took her several weeks to organize everything for the most rapid acquisition of a paper if requested and put it all in order in a large carry bag (like those handled shopping bags). I think the price of the citizenship application itself was like $750 or something, but that was a fraction of what we've spent over the years.

Green card apps (both conditional and final), filing fees, fiancee visas, advance parole request fees, work permits, etc... probably 5 grand in fees to them alone, but the costs associated were crazy ridiculous. We traveled alot in school spent several years in the Caribbean (where she is from), spent a year in Ireland, etc. Moved around the country a bit for school as well. We had to constantly call them up, wait hours on hold to get a live person, who several times told us our paperwork wasn't being processed, it was just sitting there for the last 6 months, frequently admitted they don't follow their own rules or honor attempts by applicants to follow their made-up and conflicting rules - you'd get a different story or request or rule each time you called, depending on whom you spoke to. Last-minute scrambles to make an appointment, drop everything and travel several hours to the local office to sit and wait all day for an appointment to meet some deadline you'd have never known about if you weren't proactive and called every month or two to check on it... notices mailed out from one office that told you one thing, then when you called to check or confirm, another office tells you that notice was mailed in error, so it doesn't apply (we once had to start the entire green card process over again because one of their notices specifically told us something that wasn't true and we missed a deadline, etc.).

That whole mess is ridiculous. We did meet some very very nice agents/officers who helped us out and were kind and helpful. Those were great days for us, when someone was able to answer a question and release the pressure and burden on us, but dealing with the people on the phone... that was the worst. They were as bad as collection agencies - they were rude, disinterested, short, and frequently gave us incorrect information. The phone people were "typical .gov bureaucrats" as we often see them characterized in movies. Horrible, horrible experiences. I remember listening to my wife crying on the phone trying to talk to some of them, explaining the various convoluted stories we'd been given regarding whatever process was ongoing at the time, only to hear them cutting her off, talking over her, ignoring her questions and generally being outright pricks (both men and women).

I hate them.


And all that work she put into her file to get it ready for her final interview for naturalization? Examiner didn't ask for a single document. Nothing. Zero. Took her all of 10 minutes in the office. The lady was very nice (she was in OKC), professional and pleasant. I met her when she walked my wife out the door after the interview for a few seconds. I'm not complaining that she didn't grill my wife in the interview and dig through all her papers and whatnot... just pointing out that to do things properly and meet all their necessary requirements for things to bring is almost a nightmare in itself.

Anyways... it's all said and done now. She took the oath and swore in last month and we never have to deal with them again - for her. Next steps will be working on similar things for her family, but we know the ropes and the system now. We know how to do things. It's just sad that it took so many years and so much pain to accomplish - some of which was our fault for moving around in and out of the country at the times, but you can't just sit on your hands for 5 years waiting - life continues and you have to live it.

But the bottom line is, the test is caek for anyone who can speak, read and write English passably. The pain is in the process.

 

[sureNsteady]

48/50

 

[mugsy]

Got a 50/50 on the sample test - I guess I can tell my father that his insistence on me actually learning my history and civics lessons paid off.

 

[Fatboy Joe]

49/50
Got carried away and didn't read one of the questions all the way through. I saw Age, President and clicked on 35 or older. Should have read the entire question.

Were you looking over my shoulder? I did the same thing.