This page sets out the rules the publication runs on. It is not a formality: readers make decisions on the strength of these articles that cost them money and time, and they are entitled to know where the content comes from.
What we publish
Explanations of the rules as they stand: which documents are required, how long a decision takes, what makes up the cost, what gets applications refused, and what has changed. We write about the procedure, never about an individual case.
What you will never find here: an assessment of an applicant’s chances, form filling, brokerage, “expedited processing”, consular connections, or any guarantee about an outcome.
How we check facts
Every material claim — a deadline, a fee, a form number, a documentary requirement — has to come from a primary source. By primary source we mean the official site of the body that makes the decision: travel.state.gov, uscis.gov, gov.uk, European Union portals, embassy sites and national immigration services.
Aggregators, forums and other people’s blogs are not sources. They can suggest a topic; only a document can confirm a fact.
Anything that fails to check out does not go into the text. Anything that does is published with a link, so readers can verify us rather than take our word for it.
Two tracks, and why that matters
Articles are produced in two ways, and the difference between them is real.
A full article is checked against official sources. It carries an editorial block: the date of the check and the documents the text rests on. Every link leads to the page where the rule is written down.
A short news item has had no such check. It is a condensed write-up of a single topic — fast, with no source list and no verification against official sites. These carry an In brief badge in the byline row, next to the date.
We do not treat short items as second-rate: they are useful for learning that something has changed. But if you are acting on one — filing documents, paying a fee, counting on a deadline — check the key figures on the official site yourself.
Who signs the articles
Articles are published under the name of an editorial desk, not a person. A desk is an editorial line with a subject of its own; each has a page collecting everything it has produced.
We do not attribute texts to invented correspondents with stock photographs. A desk byline is the more honest option: it says what that line actually covers, and does not impersonate someone who does not exist.
Independence
The publication does not sell placements and does not publish commissioned articles. There are no advertorials dressed up as journalism. There are no affiliate links paying us a share of a submitted application either — on a visa site that is the fastest route to recommending what pays best rather than what the reader needs.
If advertising ever appears, it will be labelled as advertising.
Corrections
Immigration rules change quickly, and last year’s instructions are sometimes more dangerous than none at all. So:
- every article carries its publication date;
- where an article has been changed on substance, the revision date is shown too;
- a confirmed error gets corrected, not buried.
Spotted something wrong? Write to [email protected]: the link to the article, which paragraph, and the correct source if you have it.
The limit of our competence
Neither the editors nor the authors are visa or immigration advisers. These articles explain a rule and show where it is written down — that is not advice and not a substitute for it. The decision in your case is made by a consulate or an immigration service. If your situation is complicated or unusual, you need a licensed lawyer, not an article.