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  1. #1
    Senior Member TexasCowgirl's Avatar
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    New citizenship test launched

    New citizenship test launched

    Web Posted: 02/16/2007 02:18 AM CST

    Hernán Rozemberg
    Express-News Immigration Writer

    One after the other, Steve Lee rattled off the answers to a new — supposedly tougher — citizenship test as quickly as the immigration officer asked them.


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    About 10 minutes and a firm handshake later, Lee, 23 , walked out knowing his days as a permanent resident were over. Welcome the next U.S. citizen, now merely waiting for his official swearing-in ceremony.

    “Man, that was pretty easy — easier than I thought,” Lee told adjudications officer Eric Holman . A senior at Texas Tech in Lubbock, his family moved from Hong Kong to San Antonio when he was 13 .

    Lee was among the dozens of immigrants who took their citizenship exam here Thursday, the first day the federal government rolled out its preliminary version of the new assessment, set to be finalized and made mandatory for all applicants next year.

    The government needs at least 6,000 volunteers — expected to take three to four months — before analyzing the results and coming up with a final version. San Antonio is one of 10 cities across the country where citizenship applicants are being given the choice to take the current or new test.

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    Citizenship Test: Check your knowledge and see how other San Antonians fared when asked some questions on the test.

    Based on Thursday's results, the Alamo City seems to have remained immune to widespread fears that failure rates would skyrocket due to the increased difficulty of the new test.

    The final tally for the day: Of 75 people that took the test, 62 volunteered for the pilot and they all passed it, answering at least six of 10 civics and history questions as well as reading, writing and speaking sentences in English.
    In the revamped test, the civics portion received a facelift. The current version is based on a formulaic set of 100 questions with short, easy-to-memorize answers. The new exam demands more knowledge of U.S. history and the inner workings of the federal government.



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    • KENS video: New citizenship test offered in S.A.


    Though aware they could bypass the new test, applicants said they were amply prepared and confident they'd pass. They took it because of the challenge, plus they deemed it as a good deed for their adopted country.
    Lee, a civil engineering major, said his university studies had kept him busy and only had time to review the new test questions for a couple of hours Wednesday night. Apparently, that was plenty.

    Though at first he nervously fidgeted in his chair, Lee quickly stood firm as he correctly answered all 10 questions of the civics portion, from naming the current U.S. president and one of the writers of the U.S. Constitution to identifying the current majority political party in Congress.

    Leani Scholtz-Lott , of Austin, wasn't fazed at all when asked to name how many judges comprise the Supreme Court — nine — or which former U.S. World War II general became president: Dwight Eisenhower.

    Like Lee, she aced all parts of the test.

    Scholtz-Lott, 33 , a native of South Africa whose first language is Afrikaans , said she began studying for the older test but did not hesitate to sign up for the new version when she received a letter asking her to become a guinea pig for the government.

    She felt good about being able to be part of the study that will determine the way future citizens will be tested, she said.

    Most test takers on Thursday dismissed the notion that the government may be setting countless people up for failure with harder questions and a more standardized approach to the exam.

    Considering most permanent residents must wait five years before being able to apply for citizenship, that's plenty of time to learn some English and become acquainted with the basic functions of the government, said Hua Le , 36 , who arrived in San Antonio 12 years ago from Vietnam.

    “You have to read newspaper, know names of senator and representatives,” said Le, owner of a nail salon on the city's West side. “Hey, people can pass — I did.”

    One veteran civics teacher in San Antonio said advocates' concerns are blown out of proportion.

    Even older candidates with little education, likely the most vulnerable population, will not have much trouble as long as they study, said Aurora Sánchez , who has taught citizenship classes at the Margarita Huantes Learning Center on Guadalupe Street for two decades.

    And for those long-timers who always have had trouble picking up English, there's still the option to take the citizenship test in Spanish. The rule is only good for people that are least 50 years old and who have been permanent residents for 20 years or longer — a profile easily applicable to South Texas.

    Bottom line, said Sánchez, immigrants should accept the government's central argument for making the changes to the test at its face value.

    “Now they won't know just that there are 27 amendments to the Constitution,” she said. “They'll actually know what those amendments say and what they stand for.”

    Mass reaction to the revamped test remains to be seen, but what's for sure is that plenty of people will have to take it in the future if they want to become citizens. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services , there are around eight million permanent residents currently eligible to apply.
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  2. #2
    Senior Member Hosay's Avatar
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    Re: New citizenship test launched

    Quote Originally Posted by TexasCowgirl

    And for those long-timers who always have had trouble picking up English, there's still the option to take the citizenship test in Spanish. The rule is only good for people that are least 50 years old and who have been permanent residents for 20 years or longer — a profile easily applicable to South Texas.

    We need to make sure that this rule is not broadened in the amnesty legislation currently being cooked up in Congress. People should check that legislation to make sure that it does not allow ANYBODY to take the test in Spanish.
    "We have a sacred, noble obligation in this country to defend the rule
    of law. Without rule of law, without democracy, without rule of law being
    applied without fear or favor, there is no freedom."

    Senator Chuck Schumer 6/11/2007
    <s

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    MW
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    "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" ** Edmund Burke**

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