Reading Test at your US Citizenship Interview

The content of the reading test focuses on civics and history topics. The USCIS Officer will ask you to read up to three sentences. You must read aloud one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate your ability to read in English.

Once you read one of three sentences correctly, the USCIS Officer will stop administering the reading test. You can not be failed because of your accent when speaking English.

Reading Vocabulary List:

People

  • ✔ Abraham Lincoln
  • ✔ George Washington

Places

  • ✔ America
  • ✔ United States
  • ✔ US

Holidays

  • ✔ Presidents’ Day
  • ✔ Memorial Day
  • ✔ Flag Day
  • ✔ Independence Day
  • ✔ Labor Day
  • ✔ Columbus Day
  • ✔ Thanksgiving

Question Words

  • ✔ How
  • ✔ What
  • ✔ When
  • ✔ Where
  • ✔ Who
  • ✔ Why

Civics

  • ✔ American flag
  • ✔ Bill of Rights
  • ✔ capital
  • ✔ citizen
  • ✔ city
  • ✔ Congress
  • ✔ country
  • ✔ Father of Our Country
  • ✔ government
  • ✔ President
  • ✔ right
  • ✔ Senators
  • ✔ state/states
  • ✔ White House

Verbs

  • ✔ can
  • ✔ come
  • ✔ do/does
  • ✔ elects
  • ✔ have/has
  • ✔ is/are/was/be
  • ✔ lives/lived
  • ✔ meet
  • ✔ name
  • ✔ pay
  • ✔ vote
  • ✔ want

Other (function)

  • ✔ a
  • ✔ for
  • ✔ here
  • ✔ in
  • ✔ of
  • ✔ on
  • ✔ the
  • ✔ to
  • ✔ we

Other (content)

  • ✔ colors
  • ✔ dollar bill
  • ✔ first
  • ✔ largest
  • ✔ many
  • ✔ most
  • ✔ north
  • ✔ one
  • ✔ people
  • ✔ second
  • ✔ south

Sample Reading Sentences:

  • ✔ Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves.
  • ✔ Alaska is the largest US state.
  • ✔ Citizens can vote.
  • ✔ George Washington was the first president.
  • ✔ Lincoln was the President during the Civil War.
  • ✔ The President lives in the White House.
  • ✔ The President of the United States is elected by the people.
  • ✔ The White House is in Washington D.C.
  • ✔ There are 100 senators in the US Senate.
  • ✔ Washington is on the dollar bill.
  • ✔ Washington is the father of our Nation.