Updated
· 6 min read · Built from the official USCIS question lists
Four civics questions have no printed answer, because the answer depends on where you live.
One of your state's US senators. Your US representative. Your governor. And your state capital. USCIS
prints "Answers will vary" next to all four, and applicants lose marks on them more often than on any
famous history question.
They are also the easiest marks on the whole test once you have looked them up, because they never
appear on anyone else's study list and there are only four of them.
Note that two of these are starred on the 2025 list (#61 governor) and the 2008 list (#20 senator and
#44 state capital), which means they are in play even for 65/20 applicants studying only twenty questions.
Special cases
Washington D.C. residents answer that D.C. has no U.S. senators, has no governor, and is not a state so
has no capital. Residents of U.S. territories answer that their territory has no U.S. senators, and name
the capital of the territory. Territories with a non-voting Delegate or Resident Commissioner may give
that person's name for the representative question.
Finding your US senators
Every state has exactly two US senators, and they represent the whole state — not a district. You only
need to name one, so pick whichever name is easier for you to remember and say, and use
that one consistently.
The authoritative list is on senate.gov, which has a "Senators of the 119th Congress"
directory you can filter by state. Senators serve six-year terms, staggered so that roughly a third of
the Senate is up for election every two years — so this answer can change.
Finding your US representative
This one depends on your congressional district, not just your state, so two people in
the same city can have different answers. Use the "Find Your Representative" tool on
house.gov and enter your ZIP code.
Representatives serve two-year terms, so the entire House is up for election every even-numbered year.
If you file your N-400 in one year and interview after an election, check this answer again.
Finding your governor
Your governor is the head of your state's executive branch. Most governors serve four-year terms.
Check your state government's official website, which is almost always state name.gov.
If you have recently moved between states, answer for the state where you live now —
the state on your N-400 and on your interview notice.
State capital table
Unlike the other three, this answer does not change. Find your state and learn one word.
State or territory
Capital
Alabama
Montgomery
Alaska
Juneau
American Samoa
Pago Pago
Arizona
Phoenix
Arkansas
Little Rock
California
Sacramento
Colorado
Denver
Connecticut
Hartford
Delaware
Dover
Florida
Tallahassee
Georgia
Atlanta
Guam
Hagatna
Hawaii
Honolulu
Idaho
Boise
Illinois
Springfield
Indiana
Indianapolis
Iowa
Des Moines
Kansas
Topeka
Kentucky
Frankfort
Louisiana
Baton Rouge
Maine
Augusta
Maryland
Annapolis
Massachusetts
Boston
Michigan
Lansing
Minnesota
Saint Paul
Mississippi
Jackson
Missouri
Jefferson City
Montana
Helena
Nebraska
Lincoln
Nevada
Carson City
New Hampshire
Concord
New Jersey
Trenton
New Mexico
Santa Fe
New York
Albany
North Carolina
Raleigh
North Dakota
Bismarck
Northern Mariana Islands
Saipan
Ohio
Columbus
Oklahoma
Oklahoma City
Oregon
Salem
Pennsylvania
Harrisburg
Puerto Rico
San Juan
Rhode Island
Providence
South Carolina
Columbia
South Dakota
Pierre
Tennessee
Nashville
Texas
Austin
U.S. Virgin Islands
Charlotte Amalie
Utah
Salt Lake City
Vermont
Montpelier
Virginia
Richmond
Washington
Olympia
West Virginia
Charleston
Wisconsin
Madison
Wyoming
Cheyenne
The classic trap: the capital is often not the biggest city. Not New York City but Albany.
Not Los Angeles but Sacramento. Not Chicago but Springfield. Not Miami but Tallahassee. Not Houston or
Dallas but Austin. Not Seattle but Olympia.
Study the whole bank on your phone
All 128 questions of the 2025 version and all 100 of the 2008 version, offline, with mastery
tracking per category and study in your own language. Free on iPhone and Android.
The four national officials
Separate from the state questions, four more answers change over time and USCIS deliberately does not
print them: the President, the Vice President, the Speaker of
the House and the Chief Justice of the United States. The 2008 list also asks
the President's political party and the number of Supreme Court justices as test-updates questions.
Check all of these on the official
USCIS test
updates page in the week or two before your interview. You must answer with the person serving on the
day you are interviewed.
Letting the app handle it
Set your US State and ZIP code once under Settings in the iPhone app
and it uses them to handle the location-dependent questions for you, so your state capital and your
state's officials show up in your study sessions instead of a "answers will vary" placeholder.
On this site, choose your state in the practice test settings and the state capital question is scored
like any other question. The questions about current national officials are deliberately left out of the
scored quiz here — we would rather send you to the official USCIS page than risk showing you an answer
that has since changed.
Frequently asked
Who is my US senator for the citizenship test?
Every state has two US senators and you only need to name one. Look yours up on senate.gov by state. Washington D.C. residents and residents of U.S. territories should answer that they have no U.S. senators.
What is the capital of my state for the citizenship test?
Find your state in the table on this page. The common mistake is naming the largest city instead of the capital — it is Albany not New York City, Sacramento not Los Angeles, Springfield not Chicago, and Tallahassee not Miami.
How do I find my US representative?
Your representative depends on your congressional district, not just your state. Use the "Find Your Representative" tool on house.gov and enter your ZIP code. Representatives are elected every two years, so check again if there has been an election since you filed.
What if I move to a different state before my interview?
Answer for the state where you live at the time of the interview, and make sure USCIS has your updated address. Your governor, state capital, senators and representative all change if you move.
