Civics question 16 of 128
Name the three branches of government.
2 accepted answers
- Legislative, executive, and judicial
- Congress, president, and the courts
You only need to give one of these. The officer accepts any of them.
Source: official USCIS question list for the 2025 version of the civics test. This site is independent and not affiliated with USCIS.
Background
The three branches are the legislative, the executive, and the judicial, which the test also accepts as Congress, the president, and the courts. The legislative branch is Congress, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and it writes the laws and controls federal spending. The executive branch is headed by the president and includes the vice president, the cabinet, and the federal departments and agencies that carry the laws out. The judicial branch is the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts, which resolve disputes and decide what the law means when it is challenged. Learning the grouping is worth the effort because several other questions ask what each branch does, who leads it, or how one branch checks another.
This background section is written by US Citizenship Test Practice to explain the civics fact. It is not part of the USCIS question list, and the official answer above is the one to give at the interview.
Where this question sits
It is part of System of Government, inside the American Government section of the test.
Related questions
- 33. Who does a member of the House of Representatives represent?
- 34. Who elects members of the House of Representatives?
- 35. Some states have more representatives than other states. Why?
- 36. The President of the United States is elected for how many years?
- 37. The President of the United States can serve only two terms. Why?
- 38. What is the name of the President of the United States now?