Bill removes age exemptions from naturalization English test
H.R. 9742 — English Language Proficiency Act · Filed by Brandon Gill (R-TX) · 7 cosponsors · Introduced Jul 16, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The bill stops letting older immigrants skip the English and civics test. Right now, immigrants aged 50 or older with 20 years of legal residence can skip it. Immigrants aged 55 or older with 15 years of residence can also skip it. This bill removes both exemptions. All applicants must pass the English and civics test.
Who it affects
Elderly immigrants aged 50 and older would be affected. They have lived in the U.S. legally for many years. They would need to pass an English test and a civics test to become citizens.
One thing to notice
The bill does not say if people with disabilities can still get help taking the test.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
7 cosponsors: 7 Republicans.
- Jul 16, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jul 16, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- naturalization — The legal process of becoming a citizen of a country.
- civics — Knowledge of how the government works and U.S. history.
- exemptions — Official permission to not follow a rule that applies to others.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (350 characters) on Oct 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,778 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-31.
“Bill removes age exemptions from naturalization English test” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr9742/simple Report an error
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