How do you spell a country's member?

The correct spelling of the word for a member of a country is Citizen: c-i-t-i-z-e-n, with two i's, a z (not s) in the middle, and ending in -en (not -an). The word comes from the Anglo-Norman citezein, from the Old French citoien, ultimately from the Latin civitas (city or community). The most common spelling errors are substituting s for z (Citisen, the British alternative spelling for some related words but not for citizen), changing the second i to an e (Citezen), or ending in -an (Citizan).

On the USCIS writing test sentences containing citizen appear frequently, including "Citizens vote in elections," "Citizens have rights," and "Who can vote?" In U.S. law citizenship is acquired by birth on U.S. soil (the Fourteenth Amendment), by birth abroad to U.S. citizen parents (under federal statute), or by naturalization.

The civics test asks several questions about citizens, including the rights of citizens versus non-citizens, the responsibilities of citizenship, and the procedures of naturalization. Citizens hold the right to vote in federal elections, to run for federal office (with the presidency limited to natural-born citizens), to serve on juries, and to hold a U.S. passport, and they assume duties such as obeying the law, paying taxes, registering with the Selective Service if a male aged 18 to 25, and serving on a jury when called.

Spelling Citizen correctly is the writing-test counterpart of the legal status the applicant is about to acquire. USCIS officers apply a charitable reading and accept minor variations such as Citizen versus citizen if the meaning is preserved. Spelling counts but perfection is not required, and the standard is whether the sentence can be understood.