Editorial Policy

How our guides are researched, written, checked, updated and corrected.

Last updated .

Our purpose

We write practical guides that help readers prepare for appointments. We aim to be accurate, clear and honest about what we don’t know. Our guides are general information, not professional advice.

Use of AI

Guides on this site are drafted with the assistance of AI writing tools. We say this plainly because readers deserve to know. AI drafting does not replace checking: before a guide is published, its factual statements are compared with the sources cited at the end of the guide. Anything we cannot support with a reliable source is removed, or replaced with a pointer telling you where to get the official answer.

Sources we use

  1. Official sources first: government agencies (for example travel.state.gov, ssa.gov, uscis.gov, cbp.gov, tsa.gov, irs.gov, cdc.gov) and the organization that actually runs the appointment.
  2. Authoritative public-health and professional bodies, such as NIH and its MedlinePlus service, or professional associations’ public information.
  3. General knowledge only for widely understood, low-risk advice (such as arriving early or writing down questions).

Every guide lists its sources and the date we checked them. We link to sources so you can verify the details yourself.

What we won’t publish

  • Invented or unverified fees, wait times, processing times, eligibility rules, office addresses or phone numbers.
  • Claims of affiliation, endorsement or “official” status, or anything that suggests we can book, speed up or guarantee an appointment or outcome.
  • Fake reviews, ratings, testimonials, visitor counts or expert credentials.
  • Copied text from other websites.

Time-sensitive topics

Government, immigration, medical and financial procedures change. For these topics we describe the general process, name the official source, and avoid specific figures unless we verified them on the official site on the date shown. If the official page and our guide disagree, follow the official page — and please tell us.

Updates and dates

Each guide shows when it was published and when it was last reviewed or updated, plus the date we last checked its sources. We change the “updated” date only when we make a real change.

Corrections

We correct errors promptly. See our Corrections page for how to report one and how reports are handled.

Independence

We don’t accept payment for coverage, don’t show advertising and don’t use affiliate links. Mentioning a company is not an endorsement, and companies cannot pay to be included or excluded.