Webinar Title: Natz 101: An Overview of the Naturalization Test
Description: This event is part of the ED/USCIS collaboration in support of the Interagency Strategy to Promote Naturalization. During this webinar, education program specialists from the USCIS Office of Citizenship (OoC) will provide an overview of the parts of the U.S. Naturalization Test to inform State directors and adult educators on how they can support immigrant and refugee adult learners who aim to become U.S. citizens. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the English and Civics components of the naturalization test, how they are scored, and resources to teach each section.
Please note that this webinar will NOT be recorded.
Date and time: July 31, from 3 to 4:30 PM ET / 12 to 1:30 PM PT
Link to register: https://air-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJMkcOCrrzsvGtxL4klQV4fW00T_O-lqUosc. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Comments
For those who just attended this meeting, I'm the one who asked at the end about officer discretion. For those curious, the USCIS Ombudsman just put out a report with a statistic that jumped out at me: "...officers nationwide, even within the same field office, do not ask applicants the same questions, and some officers ask applicants to define words or phrases found on the Form N-400.The additional clarification of terms and key concepts provided by officers can be inconsistent. This appears to give officers substantial discretion in how they determine an applicant’s ability to “speak and understand English” and may lead to inconsistent passing rates among officers and field offices.
The fail rate [for the understanding and speaking test] at the following field offices is almost more than double the average: Buffalo (10.6 and 12.2 %) Detroit (11 and 11.9 %) Imperial (10.4 and 10.4 %) Indianapolis (11 and 12.7 %) Louisville (19 and 19.6 5) Miami (12.5 and 12.9 percent) Oklahoma City (10.8 and 12.1 %) Omaha (10.5 and 11.8 %) Providence (18.6 and 18.6 %) San Juan (25.2 and 25.1 %)."
I'll see if I can find the source, but someone else here probably has it.
2024 Annual Report to Congress (Fail rates and recommendations, page 36)
2024 Annual Report to Congress Executive Summary
On July 30, the CIS Ombudsman hosted a very clear and concise overview of their findings and recommendations. The video will be posted on their website under the outreach tab.
I knew someone would have the links. Also, 36 might be a typo, it looks like page 26 has the fail rate info.