On February 22, 2021, US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) announced plans to revert to the 2008 Version of the naturalization civics test effective March 1, 2021, after the Trump administration, in late 2020, implemented a new version of the test for naturalization applications filed on or after December 1, 2020. Those who file for naturalization after March 1, 2021 will be given the 2008 test to which the Biden Administration is reverting. However, those who filed or will file between December 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021 will be given the option of taking either the 2020 Trump era version or 2008 version of the test.

In making the announcement to revert to the 2008 version, the agency explained: “USCIS determined the 2020 civics test development process, content, testing procedures, and implementation schedule may inadvertently create potential barriers to the naturalization process.” Additionally, USCIS noted that the decision to revert to the 2008 test is “consistent with the framework of the Executive Order on Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems, which directs a comprehensive review of the naturalization process to eliminate barriers and make the process more accessible to all eligible individuals.”

The Trump era test had increased the question pool for naturalization candidates from 100 to 128 questions and required twelve out of twenty questions randomly assigned to be answered correctly, an increase from six out of ten. Doug Rand of Boundless Immigration had tweeted at the time that the Trump administration revision of the test was “unnecessary, unjustified, overly complex, & shamelessly ideological” and encouraged President-elect Joe Biden to restore the 2008 version. In their recent announcement, USCIS noted that the 2008 version was “thoroughly developed over a multi-year period with the input of more than 150 organizations, which included English as a second language experts, educators, and historians, and was piloted before its implementation.”