Civics question 13 of 128
What is the rule of law?
4 accepted answers
- Everyone must follow the law.
- Leaders must obey the law.
- Government must obey the law.
- No one is above the law.
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 rule of law means everyone must follow the law, including the people who make and enforce it. The test accepts several phrasings: leaders must obey the law, government must obey the law, or no one is above the law. The principle is what separates a government of laws from a government of whoever happens to hold power at the time. It requires that laws be public and applied the same way to everyone, and that officials can be challenged in court when they exceed their authority. This is why the Constitution binds the president as well as ordinary citizens, and why courts can rule against the government. The idea reaches back to Magna Carta in 1215, when English nobles forced a king to accept that he too was subject to law.
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 Principles of American Government, inside the American Government section of the test.
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