USCIS Reading Vocabulary: The Full 2026 Word List

The USCIS reading vocabulary is every word that can appear in the reading portion of the naturalization test. Nothing outside it will be put in front of you.

That makes the reading test the most bounded part of the whole interview. The list is under 70 entries and fits on one page. Read them all aloud a few times and there is nothing left that can surprise you.

The USCIS reading vocabulary covers people, civics terms and places, plus the holidays, the six question words, a verb list and some function words. Every word in a reading test sentence comes from it. USCIS publishes it as word strips, document M-1178, and inside the pocket study guide M-1122.

What’s New in 2026 for the USCIS Reading Vocabulary

The reading list was not touched by the 2025 change.

USCIS is implementing the 2025 naturalization civics test to align with Executive Order 14161. That change swapped the 100-question civics list for a bank of 128, for anyone who filed Form N-400 on or after October 20, 2025.

The English portion was left alone. One reading vocabulary list still covers every applicant, on either version of the civics test.

The USCIS study pages reflect that. Two civics tracks, labelled Civics (2008 version) and Civics (2025 Version), and a single set of English material for everybody.

The Complete USCIS Reading Vocabulary List

Here is the full list, in the categories USCIS uses.

People

• Abraham Lincoln
• George Washington

Civics

• American flag
• Bill of Rights
• capital
• citizen
• city
• Congress
• country
• Father of Our Country
• government
• President
• right
• Senators
• state, states
• White House

Places

• America
• United States

Holidays

• Presidents’ Day
• Memorial Day
• Flag Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Columbus Day
• Thanksgiving

Question words

• How
• What
• When
• Where
• Who
• Why

Verbs

• can
• come
• do, does
• elects
• have, has
• is, are, was, be
• lives, lived
• meet
• name
• pay
• vote
• want

Other function words

• a
• for
• here
• in
• of
• on
• the
• to
• we

Other content words

• colors
• dollar bill
• first
• largest
• many
• most
• north
• one
• people
• second
• south

What the Question Words Tell You

The six question words are the most useful thing on the list.

All six of them appear on the reading list: how, what, when, where, who, why. None of them appear on the writing list. That difference is not an accident.

USCIS says its reading word strips can be used to make interrogative sentences that an applicant might be asked to read aloud. In plain terms, reading test sentences are often questions.

That is worth knowing before you sit down. A sentence that begins “Who was” or “What is” reads differently from a statement, and rehearsing that rhythm makes the real one easier.

How USCIS Publishes the Reading Vocabulary

Two free documents carry it.

The first is M-1178, the Reading Vocabulary Word Strips. It prints every word on a strip you can cut out and rearrange, so a teacher or a study partner can build sentences from them.

The second is M-1122, Preparing for the Naturalization Test: A Pocket Study Guide. It holds the reading list, the writing list, the 100 civics questions for the 2008 test, and a summary of who can apply.

Both are free from the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center. Printed copies can be bought from the U.S. Government Bookstore, but nothing in them costs money to download.

USCIS attaches one warning to the strips. The reading and writing lists share vocabulary and are not the same list, and its guidance asks you to keep them separate while practising so the two do not blur.

How the Reading Vocabulary Is Tested

One sentence, aloud, with two spare attempts.

The officer shows you a sentence and asks you to read it out loud. If it does not go correctly, you are shown a second, and then a third. You must read one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to read in English.

The standard is basic English, which is written into the law as an ability to read simple words and phrases in ordinary usage. It is not a test of accent or of speed.

Take your time. There is no clock on this part of the appointment. Reading slowly and clearly beats reading fast and stumbling.

Practice Sentences Built From the Reading List

USCIS publishes the words rather than the sentences. Anyone claiming to hold the official set is guessing, and they do not need to, because the vocabulary is the whole constraint.

Sentences built from the list look like these.

• Who was the first President
• What is the capital of the United States
• When do we vote for President
• Where is the White House
• Why do people come to America
• How many states are in the United States
• Who elects Congress
• What is the Bill of Rights
• Where does Congress meet
• When is Independence Day
• Who lives in the White House
• What is the largest state

Read each one aloud rather than silently. Then have somebody point at one at random and ask you to read it cold, which is closer to how the real one arrives.

How the Reading List Differs From the Writing List

The overlap is real, and so are the gaps.

Shared entries include capital, Congress, Father of Our Country, President, right, Senators, state, White House, United States, and all seven holidays. Learn those once and they serve both tests.

The reading list has the six question words and the writing list does not. It also carries “many”, which the writing list leaves out.

The writing list carries a lot the reading list has no use for. Months, colours, numbers, the Civil War, American Indians, and place names like Alaska, California, Canada, Delaware and Mexico.

That is why USCIS asks you to keep the two apart while studying. Practising them as one list makes the shared words feel like the whole picture.

A Two-Week Reading Vocabulary Plan

Four sessions of ten minutes, all of them out loud.

Session 1: read the whole list aloud. Every entry, one at a time. Circle anything that does not come out smoothly and say it five more times.

Session 2: build and read sentences. Take the practice sentences above and read them at a steady pace. Slow is fine. Stumbling is the thing to fix.

Session 3: cold reading. Have someone show you a sentence you have not looked at that day and ask you to read it straight away. That is the format of the real test.

Session 4: read while warm. Answer ten civics questions out loud first, then read a sentence. The reading test arrives after twenty minutes of talking, not while you are fresh.

If nobody can help, record yourself reading and play it back the next day. Hearing your own stumbles is uncomfortable and it is the fastest way to find them.

Where the Reading Test Sits in the Day

The reading sentence is a small moment near the end of a longer appointment.

An officer calls your name and places you under oath. They review your Form N-400 with you, which is the longest part and doubles as your speaking test. The civics questions follow.

Then comes the English portion: one sentence to read aloud out of three, and one to write by hand out of three.

If you do not pass a portion, USCIS generally schedules a second opportunity within 60 to 90 days of your first interview, and retests you only on the part you missed. You leave holding Form N-652, which records one of three outcomes: granted, continued, or a denial.

FAQ

Where can I download the USCIS reading vocabulary?

From the USCIS Citizenship Resource Center. It is published as word strips in document M-1178, and it also appears inside the pocket study guide M-1122 alongside the writing vocabulary list.

How many words are on the USCIS reading vocabulary list?

Under 70, grouped into people, civics terms and places, then holidays, question words, verbs and a set of other words. The whole list fits on a single page.

Are the reading and writing vocabulary lists the same?

No. They share a number of words but differ in important places. The reading list has the six question words. The writing list has the months, the colours and the numbers.

Did the reading vocabulary change with the 2025 test?

No. The 2025 change affected the civics questions only. The reading and writing lists are the same for applicants on either version of the civics test.

Do I need to know every word to pass?

You need to read one sentence correctly out of up to three. Since every sentence is built from this list, reading the whole list aloud a few times is the most efficient preparation available.

Verdict: Studying the USCIS Reading Vocabulary

The USCIS reading vocabulary is one page of ordinary words, published free, covering every sentence you could be asked to read. There is nothing to research and nothing hidden.

Print it. Read every entry out loud rather than scanning it. Pay attention to the six question words, because reading sentences are often questions. Then read practice sentences aloud to another person until none of them make you stumble.

Ten minutes a week for a fortnight, and one of the four scored parts of the naturalization interview stops being something to worry about.