Guides · State answers
Four civics answers depend on where you live, and they change on election night
Your governor, one of your US senators, your representative and your state capital: what to answer, including in DC and the territories, and when to re-check.
Most of the civics test has one right answer for everyone. Four questions do not. They depend on where you live, they are the ones generic study lists get wrong, and they are the ones most likely to change between the day you start studying and the day of your interview.
The four questions
Both the 2008 and the 2025 tests ask:
- Who is the governor of your state now?
- Who is one of your state's US senators now?
- Name your US representative.
- What is the capital of your state?
USCIS's answer key for each of these reads answers will vary. The officer has the correct answer for your address, and it has to be current.
What "current" means
Governors, senators and representatives change in bulk on election night, and the new ones take office over the following weeks. Senators and representatives are sworn in on January 3. Governors follow their own state's schedule, mostly in January. Someone with an interview in late January after a November election is in the window where a study list printed in the summer is wrong.
The next such night is November 3, 2026. If your interview is in the months after it, check your three officials the week of the interview against the primary sources: the National Governors Association for governors, senate.gov for senators, and house.gov for your representative. Do not trust a list you downloaded months ago, including ours. Check.
Which senator?
The question says one of. Either of your state's two senators is a correct answer. Learn both, name whichever comes to you first.
If you live in Washington, DC
DC is not a state, and USCIS prints the accepted answers right under the questions:
- Governor: DC does not have a governor.
- Senators: DC has no US senators.
- Capital: DC is not a state and does not have a capital.
Those are correct answers, not excuses. An officer will not mark you down for them.
If you live in Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, American Samoa or the Northern Mariana Islands
You do have a governor, so name them. For senators, the accepted answer is that your territory has no US senators. For your representative, you may name your territory's delegate or resident commissioner, or state that the territory has no voting representative in Congress. Your capital is your territory's capital.
Why this matters more than it sounds
These four questions are the difference between a study tool and a study list. A wrong governor in a study app is not a typo. It is a wrong answer at an interview someone waited years for. That is why the officials in our study material are cross-checked against the National Governors Association, senate.gov and house.gov before every release, and why they update from our server rather than waiting for an app update.
Pick your state or territory once, and every state-dependent answer follows.
Frequently asked questions
What do I answer for "Who is the governor of your state?" if I live in Washington, DC?
The accepted USCIS answer is that DC does not have a governor. DC residents also answer that DC has no US senators and that DC is not a state and does not have a capital.
Do I need to know both of my state's US senators?
No. The question asks for one of your state's US senators, so either one is a correct answer.
Do residents of Puerto Rico or Guam have a governor for the civics test?
Yes. The territories have governors, so name yours. For the senator question, the accepted answer is that the territory has no US senators.
Study the official questions, free
Both versions of the civics test, the answers for your state, and practice tests in the real format with the real pass line.
Prepare for Citizenship teaches the test; it does not advise on applications. Anything about your own case belongs with your lawyer or USCIS. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.