Integrated Civics — Symbols · Question 112 of 128
Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
Practice answer: For the 13 original colonies
Why this is the answer
The flag's 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies that became the first states.
On the 2026 citizenship test, a USCIS officer asks up to 20 questions from the official 128-question pool — answering 12 correctly passes.
Study translations and question index
Practice index: 112. This is not the official 2025 syllabus question number. Translation indices share the same practice ID and answer-option order.
Español — practice:112:es
¿Por qué la bandera tiene 13 franjas?
Por las 13 colonias originales
العربية — practice:112:ar
لماذا يحتوي العلم على 13 شريطًا؟
للمستعمرات الأصلية الـ 13
Official syllabus and legal sources
M-1778 (09/25) — 2025 USCIS syllabus. Retrieved 2026-10-15. Check current USCIS answers.
- 8 U.S.C. § 1423 — English, history and civics requirements
- 8 C.F.R. § 312.2 — Knowledge of history and government
These laws establish testing requirements; they are not individual legal advice or a citation for every historical answer. Practice questions and study translations are editorial learning aids, not official USCIS translations. Confirm the test version that applies to your filing date.
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