U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has updated its policy manual by including existing guidance from the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM) to consolidate its policies and remove obsolete information.

Updates to the policy manual include guidance on approaching types of evidence, making adjudication decisions, performing post-decision actions and handling cases that involve unreliable evidence, a release from USCIS said. The AFM will ultimately be phased out in favor of the consolidated document.

"The USCIS Policy Manual is the agency's centralized online repository for USCIS' immigration policies,” the release said. “The Policy Manual is replacing the Adjudicator's Field Manual (AFM), the USCIS Immigration Policy Memoranda site, and other USCIS policy repositories."

In addition, the change streamlines the immigration policy of the USCIS and removes obsolete information. This includes an update that “clarifies that when a petitioner, beneficiary, or authorized representative requests a copy of a signed sworn statement taken during an interview, officers provide a copy of the statement to the affiant (the person making the statement)at the conclusion of the interview where the statement was taken,” the release said.

The Policy Manual serves as the USCIS's centralized online repository for the agency's immigration policies, according to the USCIS policy manual description. It is used by immigration officers in the course of rendering their decisions and provides transparency of the office’s procedures and mission.