The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced last week that it has updated its policy manual due to new guidance on how cases are expedited.

The updates aim to clarify criteria and the circumstances of how the department considers expedition requests from nonprofit organizations, according to a Jan. 25 press release. The manual also now features examples of when USCIS can consider expedited requests from federal, state, and local agencies including labor and employment departments.

The changes also clarify circumstances that can affect or delay the ability to expedite an application, and outlines the criteria related to emergencies and urgent humanitarian situations, the USCIS stated.

“The USCIS policy manual is the agency’s centralized online repository for USCIS’ immigration policies,” according to the USCIS website. “The policy manual will ultimately replace the Adjudicator’s Field Manual (AFM), the USCIS Immigration Policy Memoranda site, and other policy repositories.”

The USCIS considers expedited requests on a case-by-case basis and may require additional documentation, the release stated. The department has sole discretion on whether to go through with the expedition process.

“Because granting an expedite request means that USCIS would adjudicate the requestor's benefit ahead of others who filed earlier, we carefully weigh the urgency and merit of each request,” the USCIS website reads.

Expedition requests may be considered if there is a “severe financial loss” to a company or person; emergencies and urgent humanitarian reasons; a non-profit organization whose request is urgent in the goal of furthering cultural or social interest; and U.S. government interests including cases identified as urgent by government agencies, as well as public safety and national security interest, according to USCIS.