U.S. Citizenship and English Practice

Prepare for the U.S. Naturalization Interview with reading, writing, civics questions, and N-400 personal information practice.

All posts in Spring 2021

The right to vote

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in N400, Online Class, Spring 2021

The United States is a democracy. Citizens choose leaders by voting in elections.

Voting is a special right that is only for United States citizens. When you become a citizen, you should register to vote!

Name one right only for United States citizens. –> Vote in a federal election

Voting is also a responsibility. Only you can make a decision about your vote. No one can do it for you.

And if you don’t send your vote, it will not get done.

If you know someone who is voting and has questions, you can find a lot of help from the County Elections Office. In Multnomah County, you can even get help with translation.

Another responsibility is to serve on a jury. In the US, a jury is a group of citizens who make a decision in court. A jury may make a decision about a crime and if someone is guilty or not.

A jury may also work with a judge in a case about other kinds of law, too. If you are a citizen, it is your responsibility to serve on a jury.

Have you ever gotten mail about serving on a jury? In Oregon, courts use driver license information to choose people.

What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?* –> Vote in a federal election / serve on a jury

Citizens have to be 18 to vote for president. In Oregon, citizens can register to vote when they are 16, and they automatically register when they get a drivers license. But, they have to wait to be 18 to really vote.

How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?* –> 18 and older

A ballot drop box in Portland, Oregon

An amendment is a change to the Constitution. When the Constitution was written in 1787, only men with property could vote. Since then, Americans changed the Constitution 4 times:

  • Men of all races can vote
  • Voting must be free (no voting taxes)
  • Women can vote (any citizen can vote)
  • Citizens 18 and older can vote

There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them. –> Citizens 18 and older can vote / Any citizen can vote

When you register to vote, you can choose a political party. It is free to join a political party. It is public information kept by the Oregon secretary of state. It is your right to join any political party, or none.

But, you should join a political party so you can vote in a primary election. A primary election is the election that each political party has to choose their candidate.

So, Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary election. Republicans can vote in the Republican primary election. After the primary, there is a general election. All registered voters can vote in a general election.

What are the two major political parties in the United States?* –> Democratic and Republican

Review

Review of the Constitution and Your Rights + The Right to Vote

Can you answer these questions when someone asks you?

Extra practice: can you write the answers?

  1. What is the “rule of law”?
  2. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
  3. What is an amendment?
  4. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
  5. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
  6. What is freedom of religion?
  7. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?
  8. Name one right only for United States citizens.
  9. What is one responsibility that is only for United States citizens?*
  10. How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?*
  11. There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
  12. What are the two major political parties in the United States?*

N-400 Part 12, Questions 1-5

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in N400, Online Class, Spring 2021

Some of the questions on the N-400 are normal questions about your life.

  • Where do you live?
  • Do you have children?
  • What is your current address?

But, the N-400 has some very specific questions about your history. These are questions about taxes, telling the truth, crime, and more. Some questions use very specific legal vocabulary.

These questions are in Part 12 of the N-400, from page 11 to page 16. There are more than 70 questions in Part 12.

The officers usually only ask some of the questions. But, you should be prepared to answer any of them.

So, what should you learn?

  1. Listen to the question, and understand it.
  2. Be ready to answer the question, and practice your answers.
  3. Practice asking “Excuse me” or “Can you explain?”
  4. Learn the meaning of the specific words (vocabulary) in this part.

N-400: Part 12, Questions 1-5

These translations are from Google translate. They may be ok, or they may have some problems. Please let me know!

Have you EVER claimed to be a U.S. citizen (in writing or any other way)?

Yes, I have / No, I haven’t / No, never

  • ¿Alguna vez ha pretendido ser un ciudadano de EE.UU. (por escrito o de cualquier otra forma)?
  • هل سبق لك أن ادعى أن يكون مواطنا الولايات المتحدة (في الكتابة أو بأي طريقة أخرى)؟
  • သငျသညျအစဉျအမွဲ (အရေးအသားသို့မဟုတ်အခြားလမ်းအတွက်) အမေရိကန်နိုင်ငံသားဖြစ်အခိုင်အမာပြီလော
  • 你曾经声称自己是美国公民（以书面或其他方式）？
  • آیا تا به حال ادعا می شود یک شهروند ایالات متحده (در نوشتن و یا هر راه دیگر)؟
  • Вы когда-либо утверждал, что гражданин США (в письменной форме или любым другим способом)?
  • Weligaa ma sheegtay inuu yahay muwaadin Maraykanka ah (qoraal ama qaab kale)?
  • Bạn đã bao giờ tự nhận là một công dân Hoa Kỳ (bằng văn bản hoặc bất kỳ cách nào khác)?
  • Adakah anda pernah mendakwa menjadi warganegara AS (secara bertulis atau apa-apa cara yang lain)?

Have you EVER registered to vote in any Federal, state, or local election in the United States?

Yes, I have / No, I haven’t / No, never

  • ¿Alguna vez se ha registrado para votar en cualquier ley federal, estatal o local de elecciones en los Estados Unidos?
  • هل سبق لك أن المسجلين للتصويت في أي دولة اتحادية، أو الانتخابات المحلية في الولايات المتحدة؟
  • သငျသညျအစဉျအမွဲအမေရိကန်ပြည်ထောင်စု၌မဆိုဖက်ဒရယ်, ပြည်နယ်သို့မဟုတ်ဒေသဆိုင်ရာရွေးကောက်ပွဲတွင်မဲမှတ်ပုံတင်ပြီလော
  • 你有没有登记投票的任何联邦，州，或在美国地方选举？
  • آیا تا به حال به رای دادن در هر فدرال، ایالتی، و یا انتخابات محلی در ایالات متحده به ثبت نام؟
  • آيا تاسو په هر فدرالي، د بهرنیو چارو، او یا په متحده ایالاتو کې د ځايي ټاکنو د ټاکنو لپاره نوم؟
  • Вы когда-либо зарегистрированных для голосования в любом федеральном, штата или местных выборах в Соединенных Штатах?
  • Weligaa ma ka diiwaan gashan in ay codeeyaan in wax Federaalka, gobolka, ama doorashada degaanka ee Mareykanka?
  • Bạn đã bao giờ đăng ký bỏ phiếu ở bất kỳ liên bang, tiểu bang, hoặc bầu cử địa phương tại Hoa Kỳ?
  • کیا آپ نے کبھی کسی بھی وفاقی، ریاست، یا امریکہ میں مقامی انتخابات میں ووٹ ڈالنے کا اندراج کیا ہے؟

Have you EVER voted in any Federal, state, or local election in the United States?

Yes, I have / No, I haven’t / No, never

  • ¿Alguna vez ha votado en ninguna ley federal, estatal o local de elecciones en los Estados Unidos?
  • هل صوت من أي وقت مضى في أي دولة اتحادية، أو الانتخابات المحلية في الولايات المتحدة؟
  • သငျသညျအစဉျအမွဲအမေရိကန်ပြည်ထောင်စု၌မဆိုဖက်ဒရယ်, ပြည်နယ်သို့မဟုတ်ဒေသဆိုင်ရာရွေးကောက်ပွဲအတွက်မဲပေးရှိပါသလား?
  • 你有没有在任何联邦，州，或在美国地方选举投票？
  • آیا تا به حال در هر فدرال، ایالتی، و یا انتخابات محلی در ایالات متحده رای دادند؟
  • آيا تاسو په هر فدرالي، د بهرنیو چارو، او یا په متحده ایالاتو کې د ځايي ټاکنو د رايه ورکړه؟
  • Вы когда-нибудь голосовали вы в любом федеральном, штата или местных выборах в Соединенных Штатах?
  • Weligaa ma u codeeyay in wax Federaalka, gobolka, ama doorashada degaanka ee Mareykanka?
  • Bạn đã bao giờ bình chọn trong bất kỳ liên bang, tiểu bang, hoặc bầu cử địa phương tại Hoa Kỳ?
  • کیا آپ نے کبھی کسی بھی وفاقی، ریاست، یا امریکہ میں مقامی انتخابات میں ووٹ دیا ہے؟
Who are these people?

Do you now have, or did you EVER have, a hereditary title or an order of nobility in any foreign country?

Yes, I do / No, I don’t / No, never

  • ¿Tiene ahora, o ¿Alguna vez tuvo, un título hereditario o una orden de la nobleza en cualquier país extranjero?
  • هل لديك الآن، أو هل لديك أي وقت مضى، وهو لقب وراثي أو أمر من نبل في أي بلد أجنبي؟
  • တစ်မျိုးရိုးလိုက်ခေါင်းစဉ်သို့မဟုတ်မည်သည့်နိုင်ငံခြားတိုင်းပြည်များတွင် nobility ၏အမိန့်ကိုသင်ယခုရှိပါသလော, သို့မဟုတ်သင်အစဉ်အဆက်ရှိခဲ့သလဲ
  • 你现在有，或者你曾经有，一个世袭贵族或在任何外国的订单？
  • آیا شما در حال حاضر، و یا آیا شما تا به حال، یک عنوان ارثی و یا منظور از اشراف در هر کشور خارجی؟
  • آیا تاسو اوس لري، او يا مو تل لري، يوه ميراثي سرليک يا په کوم بهرني هېواد د سرلوړۍ امر؟
  • У вас теперь есть, или вы когда-либо, наследственный титул или порядок благородства в любой другой стране?
  • Ha hadda aad leedahay, ama aad mar uun, horyaalka a dhaxlo ama amar ah oo ku abtirsan in dal kasta shisheeye?
  • Đừng bây giờ bạn có, hoặc bạn đã bao giờ có, một danh hiệu di truyền hoặc một trật tự của giới quý tộc ở bất kỳ nước nào?
  • اب آپ کو ایک موروثی عنوان یا کسی غیر ملک میں شرافت کا ایک حکم ہے، یا اگر آپ نے کبھی ضرورت تھی؟

Have you EVER been declared legally incompetent or been confined to a mental institution?

Yes, I have / No, I haven’t / No, never

  • Alguna vez ha sido declarado legalmente incompetente o ha sido confinado a una institución mental?
  • هل سبق لك أن أعلن غير كفء من الناحية القانونية أو تم حبسه في مصحة عقلية؟
  • သငျသညျအစဉျအမွဲတရားဝင်အရည်အချင်းမပြည့်ကြေညာခဲ့တာတစ်ခုသို့မဟုတ်စိတ်ပိုင်းဆိုင်ရာအဖွဲ့အစည်းမှချုပ်ထားခဲ့တာရှိပါသလား?
  • 你是否曾经被宣布依法不称职或仅限于精神病院？
  • آیا تا به حال اعلام شده است از نظر قانونی بی کفایت و یا به یک موسسه روانی محدود شده است؟
  • آيا تاسو په قانوني توګه بې کفایته اعلان شوي دي او یا د دماغي ارګان پورې محدود شوي دي؟
  • Вы когда-нибудь были объявлены недееспособными или ограничивалась психушку?
  • Weligaa ma lagu dhawaaqey sharci ahaan awoodin ama la egtahay hay’ad dhimirka?
  • Bạn đã bao giờ được công bố không đủ năng lực về mặt pháp lý hoặc được giới hạn trong một bệnh viện tâm thần?
  • کیا آپ نے کبھی قانونی طور پر نااہل قرار دیا گیا ہے یا ایک ذہنی ادارے میں قید کیا گیا؟

Review and Practice

  1. Have you EVER claimed to be a U.S. citizen?
  2. Have you EVER registered to vote in any election in the United States?
  3. Have you EVER voted in any election in the United States?
  4. Do you now have, or did you EVER have, a hereditary title or an order of nobility in any foreign country?
  5. Have you EVER been declared legally incompetent or been confined to a mental institution?

Read, Listen, and Answer

Week 4 – Constitutional Rights

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in Online Class, Spring 2021, US Civics

Civics and Reading

The constitution defines the government for all Americans.

We don’t have any kings, queens, or nobility. Everyone must follow the law.

The speed limit is one law…

What about teachers? They must follow the law.

What about governors? They must follow the law.

What about presidents? They must follow the law.

What is the “rule of law”? –> Everyone must follow the law.

The constitution was written in 1787. It had many problems.

For example, in 1787, women could not vote.

In 1787, white men could own slaves.

In 1787, Native Americans had no rights in the U.S.

After 1787, Americans made many changes to the constitution. A change to the constitution is also called an amendment.

For example, Americans made 4 amendments to change voting rights for all citizens of any race, men and women, 18 and older.

What is an amendment? –> A change (to the constitution)

Congress and the states can change the constitution, but it is not easy. Also, it takes a long time to pass an amendment.

Congress and the states have only changed the Constitution 27 times.

How many fingers do you have? And toes? And eyes? And ears? And nostrils (holes in your nose)?And mouths?

How many amendments does the Constitution have? –> 27

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

In 1789, Congress made 10 amendments to the Constitution. This list of amendments was called a bill.

These first 10 amendments give us really important rights. A “right” means something that a person can do, and that the government cannot stop or limit them from.

So, we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution the Bill of Rights.

What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? –> The Bill of Rights

The first amendment gives all Americans the right to free speech. It also gives us the right to come together, to protest, to report news freely, and to practice religion.

What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?* –> Speech

Stained Glass, Spiral, Circle, Pattern, Glass, Religion

Many colonists came from Europe to America for religious freedom. They wanted to practice their religion in a free way.

Now, we also have the freedom to not practice a religion. Even today, many people come to the United States for religious freedom.

What is freedom of religion? –> You can practice any religion, or not practice a religion.

These rights in the constitution are for all people in the United States. That means these are rights for citizens, permanent residents, undocumented people, and visitors.

For example, everyone living in the United States has the freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

What are two rights of everyone living in the United States? –> freedom of speech, freedom of religion

Review

  1. What is the “rule of law”?
  2. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
  3. What is an amendment?
  4. What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution?
  5. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?*
  6. What is freedom of religion?
  7. What are two rights of everyone living in the United States?

Week 3: More Interview Examples

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in N400, Online Class, Spring 2021, The Citizenship Interview

Question Review:

  1. What is your name?
  2. Have you ever used any other names?
  3. Do you have children?
  4. When was your last trip outside the United States?

Bonus:

  • Who is the president of the US now?
  • What is the political party of the president now?
  • Who is the vice president of the US now?

N-400 Practice: George Lincoln

Watch and listen to this example interview with an officer and George Lincoln.

  • What questions do you hear?
  • How many times does George say “excuse me” or a similar question?
  • Can you write down all the important numbers?
    • Don’t worry – that’s not a real Social Security Number! 🙂

Week 3 Reading and Civics: Constitution and Government

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in Online Class, Spring 2021, US Civics

Reading and Civics

Judge, Court, Justice, Law, Right, Us Supreme Court

The United States government has many parts. Congress makes federal laws. The court interprets the laws. The president signs bills to become laws. The president is also in charge of the Executive branch.

Each part of the government is called a branch. The constitution made 3 branches of government to work together.

Name one branch or part of the government.* –> Congress / the President / the courts

Fingers, Fist, Hands, Paper, Rock, Scissor, Scissors

The founding fathers did not want America to have a king. They worried about one part of the government from getting too much power.

So, congress has some powers over the president. The president has some power over congress. The court has some power over the president and congress. Congress and the president also have some power over the court.

This separation of power is supposed to keep things balanced. We sometimes call these rules checks and balances.

What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful? –> Checks and Balances

Another balance of power is between the federal government and state governments. Only the federal government can do some special things, like:

  • Print money
  • Declare war
  • Make treaties

Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government? –> print money

On the other hand, only state governments have these powers:

  • Give a driver license
  • Provide education
  • Provide police and safety

Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states? –> give a driver license

  1. What is the supreme law of the land?
  2. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
  3. What does the Constitution do?
  4. When was the Constitution written?
  5. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
  6. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.
  7. Name one branch or part of the government.*
  8. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government?
  9. Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states?
  10. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful?

Week 3 – Personal Information Review

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in N400, Spring 2021, The Citizenship Interview

N-400 Questions

  1. What is your full legal name? –> My name is
  2. Where were you born? –> I was born in _______
  3. What is your marital status? Are you single, married, divorced, widowed, or separated?
  4. Do you have any children?
  5. If yes: Where do they live?

Mystery Leaders

Who am I? 😎😎😎

  1. Where were you born?
  2. When were you born?
  3. Are you married?
  4. Do you have children?
  5. What is your phone number?
  6. Where do you work?
  7. Do you belong to any groups or organizations?

N-400 Practice: Antonio Paz

Watch part of Antonio’s interview. What do you think?

Did he do great? Terrible? So-so?

What questions did you hear? Do you hear the most important question?

This is only an example. This is only part of an interview.

Excuse me, can you explain that?

  1. What’s your full legal name?
  2. What is your marital status? Are you married? Single? Divorced? Widowed?
  3. How many times have you been married?
  4. Was your wife born in the US?
  5. Who is your wife’s employer?
  6. Do you have children?
  7. Were they born in the US? / Was she born in the US?
  8. Where do your children live? / Where does your child live?
  9. Have you spent any time outside the United States since you became a permanent resident?

Understanding the Constitution

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in Online Class, Spring 2021, US Civics

Reading and Civics

The constitution is the most important law of the United States.

That is what we mean when we say the constitution is the supreme law of the US.

What is the supreme law of the land? –> The Constitution

The Constitution has the idea of self-government in the first three words.

Self-government means a government by the people, of the people, and for the people.

It means we have a democracy, and we elect representatives.

The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words? –> We the people

Before the Constitution, the US didn’t have a clear system. States did not agree about important things like money, the military, or elections.

The Constitution was a plan to set up the government. It explains the system of government.

What does the Constitution do? –> It sets up the government.

Can you find the famous founding fathers in this painting? Look for: Washington and Franklin.

The founding fathers were leaders who started the United States. They met in 1787 to write a new constitution for the US.

When was the Constitution written? –> 1787

This meeting was called the “Constitutional Convention.” During the Constitutional Convention, the founding fathers wrote the constitution.

We also say that at the Constitutional Convention, the constitution was written.

What happened at the Constitutional Convention? –>The founding fathers wrote the constitution.

After the constitution was written, every state had a vote about it.

Alexander Hamilton wrote the Federalist Papers. They explained why the US needed this constitution.

There is only one question about the Federalist Papers. When you hear “Federalist Papers,” you can think about this song:

The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers. –> Alexander Hamilton

  1. What is the supreme law of the land?
  2. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
  3. What does the Constitution do?
  4. When was the Constitution written?
  5. What happened at the Constitutional Convention?
  6. The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers.

The Day of Your Interview

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in N400, Spring 2021, The Citizenship Interview

Practice Questions and Answers:

  • How are you doing today?
  • What is your full legal name?

  • What do you do?
    • I work at ________________
    • I take care of my family.
    • I am unemployed.
    • I am retired.
    • I am a student at ________

Watch this video from USCIS with important information about the day of your interview.

You know that you should come _____________ minutes early, and the address of USCIS in Portland is _________ ________ Overton St.

But when you come to USCIS for the interview, what should you bring?

Choose 2 out of 3 (2 are correct, 1 is not necessary). For example:

Your notice of interview appointment.Permanent Resident Card.A toothbrush and toothpaste.

Passports and ID           

Your passport and Oregon ID (or drivers license)A library card with your name on it.All your expired (old) passports.

More helpful documents

Your marriage certificate (if you’re married)Your divorce papers (if you’re divorced).Flowers (if you meet someone cute at the interview)

Other legal papers

Official papers for your dog or cat (if you have one)Name change papers (if you changed your name before)Court papers (if you had a criminal problem before)

Selective Service

For men between 18-31, you should bring proof of Selective Service Registration. Please call Selective Service at 1-847-688-6888 or visit https://www.sss.gov/Registration/Check-a-Registration/Verification-Form

2020 Updates

A face mask to help prevent COVID-19A stick that is 6 feet long so you will stay physically distant. A black pen

Week 2 Civics: More Places in the US

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in Online Class, Spring 2021, US Civics

Civics Review: Oregon Leaders

Reading+Civics: Places

Do you know what this famous statue is?

The Statue of Liberty is a famous place in New York.

Have you ever visited the Statue of Liberty?

Where is the Statue of Liberty? –> New York

The United States has many long rivers.

The number one longest river in the United States is the Mississippi.

Name one of the two longest rivers in the United States. –> Mississippi

Oregon, Washington, and California are states. They are part of the 50 United States.

Citizens in states can vote for president. But they also have to pay federal taxes.

  • Puerto Rico is in the Atlantic Ocean
  • San Juan, Puerto Rico

The United States also has territories. Territories are not the same as states. For example, Puerto Rico is a territory with more than 3 million people.

They are part of the US, but the citizens there do not vote for president. But, they do not have to pay the same taxes.

Another US territory is Guam. It is an island in the Pacific Ocean with about 165,000 people.

Name one US Territory. –> Puerto Rico

The United States flag has 50 stars. Each star represents one state.

The flag has 50 stars because we have 50 states.

Why does the flag have 50 stars? –> Because we have 50 states

Steps for Citizenship

Posted on Author teacherericPosted in N400, Online Class, Spring 2021, The Citizenship Interview

What is your phone number?

My phone number is 503-111-1111

What is your date of birth?

Can you repeat that please?

When were you born?

I was born in May / I was born on May 1, 1980

Where were you born?

In _____ / I was born in ______

Citizenship Process

  1. Have you filled out the N-400?
    1. Yes I have / No I haven’t
  2. Have you sent the N-400?
  3. Have you gotten the receipt of the N-400?
  4. Have you gotten an appointment for biometrics?
  5. Have you gone to the USCIS office for biometrics?
  6. Have you gotten an appointment for your interview?
  7. Have you gone to the USCIS office for an interview?
  8. Have you taken the oath of citizenship?

en English
ar العربيةzh-CN 简体中文en Englishtl Filipinofr Françaisko 한국어lo ພາສາລາວmy ဗမာစာne नेपालीps پښتوfa فارسیpt Portuguêsro Românăru Русскийso Afsoomaalies Españolth ไทยuk Українськаvi Tiếng Việt