Civics question 70 of 128
What is one way Americans can serve their country?
6 accepted answers
- Vote
- Pay taxes
- Obey the law
- Serve in the military
- Run for office
- Work for local, state, or federal government
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
Any one of these answers: vote, pay taxes, obey the law, serve in the military, run for office, or work for local, state, or federal government. The list is deliberately broad, and most of it involves no uniform at all. Only about one percent of Americans serve in the armed forces today, while some twenty million work for a government at some level, in schools, courts, agencies, and city departments. Service in this sense means carrying a share of the common load rather than doing anything heroic. Jury duty belongs here too, since a court cannot function without people willing to appear. Note how this differs from the civic participation question nearby: that one asks how people take part in public life, while this one asks what they owe.
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 Rights and Responsibilities, inside the American Government section of the test.
Related questions
- 71. Why is it important to pay federal taxes?
- 72. It is important for all men age 18 through 25 to register for the Selective Service. Name one reason why.
- 63. There are four amendments to the U.S. Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them.
- 64. Who can vote in federal elections, run for federal office, and serve on a jury in the United States?
- 65. What are three rights of everyone living in the United States?
- 66. What do we show loyalty to when we say the Pledge of Allegiance?