You are not a citizen until you are sworn in. If you are denied because of failure to pass the English or the civics test, you will be automatically rescheduled within 90 days. If you are not approved for some other reason, you may be given time to overcome the problem.
For 2009, the American Opportunity Credit--which is a variation of the Hope Credit--will be allowed for 4 years. For years before and after the new credit is allowed, the Hope credit is supposed to be for 2 years.
This is the case even for plan designs with maximum durations as short as 13 weeks. In fact, more than 80% of these claims were resolved at least 2 weeks before benefits expired while only about. 4% of claims with long-term durations -- that is, with benefits available for between 40 and 52 weeks --.