How we research and cite USCIS rules

Primary sources only

We cite uscis.gov, ecfr.gov for 8 CFR Part 312, and the USCIS Policy Manual. We do not cite Boundless, Lawfully, CitizenshipWorks, immigrationhelp.org, or other aggregators as primary sources. They may be useful for orientation, but the source of truth is USCIS and the Code of Federal Regulations.

Verbatim quotes only

Where a USCIS rule is quoted on this site, the quote is byte-identical to the USCIS-published source. Civics test questions are quoted exactly as USCIS publishes them; we do not reword. Where we add plain-language commentary for non-native-English readers, the commentary is clearly marked as our editor's note — never blended with USCIS-published text.

Dated captures and the capture-staleness rule

Every USCIS source we cite carries a "last verified" date pin. We treat captures older than 30 days as stale and re-fetch them on a rolling cycle. USCIS pages change — especially the test-updates page, the Policy Manual, and Form N-400/N-648 edition dates. If you spot a discrepancy between this site and uscis.gov, uscis.gov is the source of truth.

Decoder logic

The civics test version decoder maps a 5-input compound query (filing date + age + LPR years + disability + provider type) to the USCIS-published rules. Every branch in the decoder traces to a specific primary source. The N-648 eligibility checker maps a 4-input compound query (disability category + duration + provider type + prior letter) to the seven required elements per Policy Manual Vol. 12 Part E Ch. 3 §H.

The decoder is implemented as a pure TypeScript function with fixture-tested branches. We do not log decoder inputs to analytics; processing is client-side only. See our privacy notes.

What we flag and how

• "Review pending" notes (e.g. on the about page) identify items we are awaiting an external dependency for — currently the named content reviewer (pending USCIS-accreditation verification). We do not list a reviewer name until the underlying credential is verifiable.
• "Last verified [DATE]" pins date every page making a policy claim.
• POLICY ALERT callouts surface USCIS-published policy changes (e.g., the June 13, 2025 N-648 review-process Policy Alert).
• USCIS verbatim blocks (italic, navy left border) mark literal USCIS rule text — distinct from our prose.

Multilingual disclosure

v1 of N648Decoder ships in English (en-US) only. Many of our audience members are non-native-English readers; we write at an 8th-grade reading level, avoid idioms, and structure tabular figures for easy parsing. We do not yet ship Spanish-language content because translating USCIS-rule text without a Spanish-fluent USCIS-accredited reviewer would create a fabrication risk: a paraphrased Spanish rendering of a USCIS rule is a fabricated rule.

Corrections

To report a correction, email [email protected]. Primary-source links on every rule statement also let you verify the source directly at uscis.gov, ecfr.gov, or justice.gov/eoir. If a rule on this site differs from those sources, the source is authoritative.