Russkaya Reklama has recently received several letters from readers who have heard that the new citizenship test is much harder than the old one and that it will be very difficult for some people, especially older immigrants, to pass.
"Instead of making the exam easier and exempting the elderly from taking it, it appears that the exam has become more difficult,” wrote Efim Bekman of Bensonhurst. "How will we be able to pass? And what will happen to us if we don't? Given the current tightening of immigration policy, only U.S. citizens can rest easy. People who have not yet become citizens, even green card holders, may lose rights and privileges at any time, like benefits that elderly Russian immigrants receive."
Mirra Lerner shares Mr. Bekman’s concerns. She believes that law abiding immigrants who unfailingly pay their taxes should be granted citizenship without having to pass a test.
On the other hand, Queens resident Leonid Edelman welcomes the more difficult test. “It is too easy for immigrants – including Russian-speakers – to become citizens,” he wrote. “As a result, they don’t value their new status. They become citizens in name only. They don't know anything about our country's history or values. They don't even try to understand the meaning behind the oath that they have to take. They get their certificate and then they have the nerve to inveigh against America and criticize it for any reason.
“Now they will have to study and cram a little bit. What’s so bad about that?”
So what really happened? Did the test become more difficult or not? If it did become more difficult, then by how much? And what effect will this have on immigrants, specifically Russians?
A few days ago, U.S. immigration authorities actually did unveil 100 questions (and answers) for the new test, which immigrants who want to become citizens will take starting October 1, 2008. This is the first time that the test has been reworked since it was introduced in 1986. It was changed because of criticism from the left and the right. Liberals and immigrant rights activists thought that it was too hard, while conservatives considered it too easy and superficial.
But some moderate and well-intentioned Americans felt that the current test does not meet its purpose because it does not help turn immigrants from Mexico, China, the former Soviet Union and other counties into true citizens of the land of the free. The reworking of the test was meant to address arguments like this.
It took years of laborious work to come up with the new questions. Discussions took place among historians, liberal and conservative research teams, ELL teachers, and government officials over the course of six years. The Office of Citizenship at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) took over the process in April 2005. Over the course of four months this year, the USCIS conducted an experiment: over 6,000 immigrants volunteered to become guinea pigs and take the new version of the test. As a result, 15 questions that the subjects considered too difficult were removed from the test.
This reform has cost the government $6.5 million. Most experts believe that it has been worth the money because the new test will make the naturalization process meaningful and valid. The new questions (and their answers) are intended to strengthen knowledge of the U.S. form of government; the features of American democracy and traditional American values; the rights and responsibilities of citizens; the history and geography of our country; and the contributions of various groups, including women, African Americans, and Native Americans.
Some easy questions (“Who wrote the Star-Spangled Banner?” or “Who said ‘Give me liberty or give me death?'") were dropped from the test to be replaced by questions about slavery, the civil rights movement, and 9/11.
“The new test really does include all the questions that a U.S. citizen should be able to answer," said USCIS director Emilio Gonzales at a press conference in Washington.
Alfonso Aguilar, the USCIS official who is considered the architect of the new test, stressed that he and his colleagues did not want to scare or punish anyone. “We certainly do not want people to fail the test,” he said. At the same time, Mr. Aguilar did not hide that unlike the old test, which could be passed without much effort, the new test would require preparation.
“Even highly-qualified immigrants will have to really study,” admitted a USCIS official in an interview with The New York Times.
The new questions will not affect how the test is administered. Interviewers will still ask immigrants 10 of the 100 questions, choosing questions of differing degrees of difficulty. Immigrants will still have to answer 6 of the 10 questions correctly to pass the test.
Not everyone has welcomed the new test. Some immigrant advocates believe that it is totally unacceptable, while other super-patriots believe that the reform should have been even more radical. Several days ago, the Illinois-based Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights called the test "the last brick in the wall" that separates immigrants from native-born Americans. A representative of this group said that the test includes "abstract questions that are too difficult for immigrants who work hard and do not have enough time to study.”
John Fonte of the conservative Hudson Institute said that the test should include a question on the meaning of the oath of allegiance. “I would rather the test stressed the Americanization of immigrants," he noted in an interview with The New York Times.
What do human rights advocates from the Russian-speaking community think about the test? According to Inna Arolovich, president of the American Association of Jews from the Former USSR, the most difficult aspect of the new test is that it requires a thorough knowledge of English.
“It’s not that the questions are that much more difficult,” said Ms. Arolovich. “Most of them have simply been rephrased. The problem is that now you can’t give a short or monosyllabic answer. The words in the questions are understandable and the grammar is as simple as it could possibly be. But the questions are phrased in such a way that those taking the test must express their opinion or discuss a topic out loud. This means that their knowledge of English must be fairly high.
“It used to be that level three knowledge of English was sufficient to pass the test, but now immigrants will need at least level four or probably level five knowledge to pass. Also, people used to start studying for the test only after applying for citizenship. I think that now they will have to start studying English seriously no more than a year after arriving here. They will have to be fluent by the time they file their applications.
“Clearly, most elderly people will not be up to this. Thankfully, the N-648 form has not been changed, so immigrants who have a doctor's note will be able to take the test in their native language with the help of an interpreter, or they will be exempted from taking the test at all."
To my question of whether programs at Jewish centers should be expanded to help people prepare for the exam, Ms. Arolovich answered in the affirmative.
“There was a time when classes were being cancelled and many teachers were fired. Now everything needs to be resurrected and expanded to prepare for a rush of people. Members of the New York Immigration Coalition have gotten the government of New York State and New York City to appropriate funds for classes like these. This proves that if you really need money, you can find it."
Ms. Arolovich believes that people who want to become U.S. citizens will definitely succeed. “Russian immigrants have nothing to fear. They just have to study,” she said.
Judging by the above-mentioned experiment, immigrants have been able to pass the new test, regardless of how difficult it is. Ninety-two percent of participants in the experiment passed on the first try. This is very high, considering that only 84 percent of immigrants taking the current test pass it.
The new test will be introduced in one year – on October 1, 2008. Immigrants who apply for citizenship and are invited for interviews before this date will take the old test. Immigrants who apply for citizenship before October 1, 2008 but who are not invited for interviews until after this date can chose between the old test and the new test. Immigrants who are invited for interviews after October 1, 2009 will have to take the new test regardless of when they submitted their applications.
