What is the form of government of the United States?

What does this answer mean?

The United States is a republic: the people hold power and choose leaders to govern for them, instead of being ruled by a king or queen. USCIS also accepts two longer answers that describe the same system in more detail.

"Constitution-based" means the government gets its powers from the Constitution and has to stay within them. "Federal" means power is shared between a national government in Washington, D.C., and the governments of the 50 states. The 10th Amendment says powers the Constitution doesn't give to the national government belong to the states or to the people.

"Representative democracy" describes how the people govern: citizens vote for officials, such as members of Congress, the president, and state leaders, who make decisions on their behalf. Article IV of the Constitution also promises every state a republican form of government.

Any one of the three answers is correct. If you want the shortest one to remember, say "republic."