A policy alert is USCIS guidance to its own officers, not a regulation. It governs how USCIS adjudicates, and it can be revised or withdrawn without rulemaking.
What the document says
USCIS is changing how the Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions ( Form N-648 ) is processed by focusing greater attention on the veracity of medical certifications and identification of fraud, thereby enhancing the integrity of the process.
Who the document names
The document does not name specific countries or visa categories in its scope language. Read the original to confirm whether it applies to a particular case.
Related changes
Agency updatePublished Aug 6, 2026
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual that removes references to the Diplomatic List (also known as the “Blue List”), which is no longer published by the U.S. Department of State (DOS).
Agency updatePublished Aug 5, 2026
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to require officers to suggest Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing as an optional form of evidence to establish a claimed genetic relationship in cases where primary evidence is unavailable, unreliable, or insufficient to establish a claimed genetic relationship, in situations where an officer determines additional evidence is necessary.
Agency updatePublished Oct 20, 2025
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to implement the 2020 Naturalization Civics Test with some modifications (“2025 Naturalization Civics Test”), which helps ensure proper assimilation of lawful immigrants into the United States and promote a unified American identity and attachment to the Constitution, laws, and founding principles of the United States. This update also provides clarification on the requirements an alien must demonstrate to sufficiently establish knowledge and understanding of civics as required under section 312 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
Agency updatePublished Apr 2, 2025
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is updating policy guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify that USCIS recognizes the two biological sexes, male or female, for purposes of reviewing benefit requests and USCIS-issued documents.
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SubscribeAbout this record
- Source
- USCIS Policy Manual, checked Aug 2, 2026
- Review
- Classified automatically; not reviewed by a person
- The updates page does not publish an effective date. Where the guidance states one, it is in the linked document. This event does not assert an effective date it cannot cite.
- Affected Policy Manual sections, as listed by USCIS: 12 USCIS-PM E.3; 12 USCIS-PM H.2 (Citizenship and Naturalization).
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