U.S. English, Inc. Hails Increased Focus on English in New Naturalization Test

U.S. English, Inc. today saluted the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) for its efforts to make a redesigned U.S. citizen test more indicative of an immigrant’s ability to comprehend English. While proficiency in English has been a requirement for nearly all candidates for naturalization since 1906, the implementation of this mandate has become a weak judge of skill. Today, immigrants are evaluated for their understanding of English by writing a single sentence and answering a few government-related questions in the common language of the United States.

“The redesign of the English proficiency standards for the citizenship test is a beneficial process,” explained U.S. English, Inc. Chairman Mauro E. Mujica, an immigrant from Chile who himself passed the naturalization test in 1970. “Numerous studies have shown that English proficiency and functioning as a citizen go hand-in-hand. By emphasizing the importance of English comprehension, we are giving our newest citizens a leg up in their new nation.”

Both government and private-sector research has found that English proficiency and wages go hand-in-hand. In 2001, the U.S. Department of Education found that those with limited English proficiency tend to work in the least desirable jobs and earn roughly half the wages of the overall population. Earlier this year, a report by the Educational Testing Service revealed that the ability to understand English was so crucial to success that foreign-born workers with moderate-to-high levels of English proficiency had higher earnings than native-born workers with the same degree of English comprehension.

“Our nation of immigrants should not look at today’s newcomers as nothing more than cheap labor,” said Mujica. “If we are to continue our legacy of unity and strength, the ability to speak the common language of the United States is critical. The government must encourage and ensure that newcomers acquire the English skills that will help them write the next great chapter in the annals of the American Dream.”

The new naturalization test, which is still in the development stage, is expected to be released in several cities next year and nationwide in 2006.

U.S. English, Inc. is the nation's oldest and largest non-partisan citizens' action group dedicated to preserving the unifying role of the English language in the United States. Founded in 1983 by the late Sen. S.I. Hayakawa of California, U.S. English, Inc. (www.usenglish.org) now has more than 1.8 million members.