What word means to ask formally for something?

The word that means to ask formally for something, on the USCIS reading vocabulary list, is Petition. To petition is to make a formal written request to an authority for a specific action, and the right to petition the government is one of the five freedoms protected by the First Amendment. The text of the First Amendment guarantees "the right of the people... to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

The petition clause has deep roots in English legal tradition (the 1689 English Bill of Rights and earlier petitions to the Crown) and was central to American grievances against George III: the Olive Branch Petition of 1775 was a final colonial appeal to the King for reconciliation, and its rejection helped push the colonies toward independence.

Modern uses of the petition right include filing lawsuits in federal and state courts (the right of access to the courts), submitting written comments on proposed federal regulations under the Administrative Procedure Act, lobbying members of Congress, signing initiative and referendum petitions in states that allow direct democracy, recall petitions to remove elected officials in some states, and ballot petitions to qualify candidates or measures for the ballot. The petition clause also protects the practice of writing to elected representatives.

The Supreme Court has held that the right to petition is closely related to the rights of free speech and free assembly and is fundamental to democratic government. The verb is also used in immigration practice: a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident may file a Form I-130 petition for a relative, and an employer may file a Form I-140 petition for a worker. On the reading test Petition may appear in a sentence about the First Amendment or citizens' rights.