DHS Is Weighing New Citizenship Education Standards and Letting Third Parties Give the Naturalization Test

A federal regulatory agenda entry reported on Aug. 4, 2026 shows the Department of Homeland Security is developing a rule that would establish "a framework and a standard" for how naturalization applicants meet citizenship education requirements, which the department says would "further enhance the integrity of the naturalization test." U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is also considering allowing third parties to administer the test. DHS says the changes would help ensure the "proper assimilation of lawful immigrants" and promote "a unified American identity." The agenda entry does not explain how third-party testing would work or who would qualify.

Naturalization is the last procedural gate before citizenship, and USCIS naturalized 818,500 people in fiscal 2024, with an initial test pass rate of 89.7%. Outsourcing administration of that gate, and adding education standards not currently specified in regulation, would change who clears it.

DHS is expected to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in December, with a public comment period before any final rule. A former USCIS supervisor, Douglas S. Pierce, told Newsweek that third-party testing has been tried before and that the announcement "doesn't provide enough details to assess exactly what the agency intends to do."