Francisco Menjivar has spent months memorizing answers to civics questions like, "Who wrote 'The Star-Spangled Banner?' " (Francis Scott Key) and "How many voting members are in the House of Representatives?" (435).
He knows answers to most of the 96 questions and isn't about to put that hard work to waste. So the 52-year-old Salvadoran immigrant from Norwalk made sure to send off his naturalization application early this week, before the deadline to apply for citizenship and still take the old test.
Today, the federal government will start phasing in a new citizenship test that emphasizes American concepts and values over rote memorization.
Open-ended prompts asking applicants to describe what the Constitution does or what the "rule of law" is, for example, replace more pointed questions like, "What were the original 13 states" or "Who said 'Give me liberty or give me death?' "(Patrick Henry).
But the much-publicized switch to the new exam has caused anxiety and uncertainty among some immigrants, and advocacy groups have noticed an increase in applications among legal residents who fear that the new test will be more difficult.
"Even though we've known about the possible change for quite some time, it's really sinking in now, and some people are panicking," said Mark Yoshida, staff attorney for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.
Citizenship officials said there is no evidence of a measurable increase in applications and that immigrants who study for the exam should have nothing to worry about.
The exam is not harder, only more meaningful, said Alfonso Aguilar, chief of the Office of Citizenship at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, citing scores on a pilot program that showed 92% of applicants passed the new test on the first try compared with 84% under the old one. Those who don't pass the first time get a second chance.
"Instead of asking what are the colors of the flag, now we're asking why does the flag have 50 stars or 13 stripes" he said. "It's more concept-oriented rather than just memorizing random facts. If people study, they should pass. From our perspective, we wouldn't gain anything by having a harder exam."
The overhaul, the first time the test has been retooled since 1986, took two years. Applicants will be given 10 of the 100 questions and must answer six correctly to pass. They are also required to read and write basic English sentences that focus on civics and undergo an interview to complete the process, which ends in a naturalization ceremony. A backlog in processing applications means that the average person applying for citizenship today will wait 10 to 12 months before being tested.
