What word means written laws?

The word that means written laws, on the USCIS reading vocabulary list, is Statute. A statute is a written law enacted by a legislature, as distinguished from common law (which is judge-made law developed through court decisions), constitutional provisions (which are part of the Constitution itself), and regulations (which are issued by executive agencies under authority delegated by statute).

At the federal level statutes are enacted by the U.S. Congress and signed by the President (or passed over a veto), and once enacted they are codified in the United States Code, a 54-title compilation organized by subject matter (Title 8 covers Aliens and Nationality, Title 18 covers Crimes, Title 26 is the Internal Revenue Code, and so on). Each new law is also published in chronological order in the Statutes at Large. State statutes are enacted by state legislatures and codified in state codes such as the California Codes or the Florida Statutes.

The hierarchy of American law places the Constitution at the top, followed by treaties and federal statutes (which the Supremacy Clause of Article VI declares to be the supreme law of the land), then federal regulations, then state constitutions, state statutes, state regulations, and local ordinances. Where a state law conflicts with a federal statute on a matter within Congress's enumerated powers, the federal statute prevails.

Statutes are interpreted by courts when their meaning is disputed, and statutory interpretation is one of the major activities of federal and state appellate courts. On the reading test Statute may appear in a sentence about law, Congress, or the courts. The word is from the Latin statutum, meaning a thing decided or established. Recognizing it as a synonym for law helps applicants navigate sentences that use statutory language.