In what universe is this true? In all the companies I've worked for, referrals for ICs meant that these people were prioritized for interviewing, not that they

In what universe is this true? In all the companies I've worked for, referrals for ICs meant that these people were prioritized for interviewing, not that they skipped the process. And no one, not even the manager of the hiring manager, had enough say in hiring someone that they could simply decide to skip the process