Fact-Checking Process

Last updated: May 27, 2026.

Vasquez Law Firm publishes legal information that affects real decisions — immigration filings, criminal defense strategy, family law petitions, personal injury claims. We treat fact-checking as a load-bearing process, not a courtesy. Every article goes through the following steps before publication.

Step 1 — Primary source verification

Before any article is drafted, we identify the primary source document that anchors its claims. This source must be one of:

  • An official U.S. federal agency page (USCIS, DHS, ICE, State Department, DOJ, Department of Labor).
  • A Federal Register notice with a docket number.
  • A federal court opinion (Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, district court).
  • A North Carolina or Florida statute, court opinion, or regulatory notice.

The source document is fetched, archived, and quoted directly in the article with attribution. If no primary source is available, the article is not written.

Step 2 — Statute and citation verification

Every statute citation in our articles is verified against the actual code section. We cross-check:

  • The cited section number exists in the current code.
  • The cited section covers the subject matter described.
  • The citation format is correct (e.g., 8 U.S.C. § 1255, not a fabricated subsection).
  • Where possible, every statute citation links to Cornell Legal Information Institute or the official code repository.

Step 3 — Date and timeline accuracy

Every date in an article is checked against the source. We do not shift historical dates forward to make articles feel current. If a rule took effect in 2025, the article says 2025 — not 2026. If a court ruled on March 15, we do not round to "March 2026." Date accuracy is reviewed in a dedicated pass after drafting.

Step 4 — Direct quote verification

Every blockquote in our articles is verified character-for-character against the source document. We do not paraphrase inside blockquote tags. If the source page is updated after we publish, we add a note acknowledging the original quote and the change.

Step 5 — Named attorney sign-off

No article publishes without a named attorney review. The reviewing attorney confirms the legal claims are accurate for the jurisdictions we cover, the practice-area scope matches what the firm offers, and the article complies with NC State Bar Rule 7.1 and FL Bar Rule 4-7.13 advertising rules.

The reviewing attorney's name appears as the article byline with a link to their full biography on our attorneys page.

Step 6 — Geographic and jurisdictional check

We only publish content for the practice areas, states, and counties our firm actually serves. If an article touches a case from a state we do not serve, we frame it as context, not as VLF capability. We never claim to represent clients in jurisdictions where we are not licensed.

How to report an error

If you find an error in any of our articles — a wrong statute citation, a misstated date, a misquoted source, a jurisdictional mistake — please email us through the contact page. We investigate every report. Confirmed errors are corrected per our Corrections Policy.

Why we publish this process

Most law firm content is anonymous and unsourced. The reader has no way to tell whether a claim is verified, when it was checked, or by whom. We publish this process because YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) content — legal, medical, financial — has real consequences. Trust, in our view, has to be earned by showing the work.