US devises new 100-question test for aspiring citizens
Houston, Sept. 30 (PTI): If you are an aspiring US citizen, it's just the right time to brush up your knowledge of Amerian history and civics, or else, Uncle Sam may not let you in. A new citizenship test -- asking 100 questions like "What did Susan B Anthony do?", "What territory did the United States buy from France in 1813?" -- is now added to the list of formallities, which must be cleared by immigrants wanting to become citizens of US.
Devised by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the test would be a legal requirement for aspiring Americans post October 2008. The new test released on Friday, after several years and USD 6.5 million in the making, is designed to give would-be Americans a better sense of US history, civics and founding principles, placing less emphasis on memorisation, officials said.
The test will ask in-depth questions like who lived in America before Europeans arrived, what group of people was taken to US and sold as slaves, and name of the state bordering Canada. "It's no longer a test about how many stars are on the flag or how many stripes," said Emilio Gonzalez, director of US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which unveiled the new questions.
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