The EB-1A membership criterion is about "outstanding achievements"

USCIS determines if the association for which the person claims present or past membership requires that members have outstanding achievements in the field as judged by recognized experts in that field.

(Emphases are my own).

This is a section on the EB-1A membership criterion taken directly from the USCIS Policy Manual.

As with a lot of the terms used in the USCIS Policy Manual section on EB-1A, there is no explicit definition of "outstanding achievements," which is a foundational factor to consider for any membership you want to claim as evidence that you meet the EB-1A membership criterion.

So how should you be looking at memberships for the membership criterion?

Focus on memberships that:

1. Allow you to make the argument that by being a member, you are being recognized for your outstanding achievements and

2. That the achievements for which you were recognized through membership can be considered "outstanding" in your field.

Both will require contextual evidence, especially in showing how your achievements can be considered "outstanding."

Here are several ways you can make this argument:

1. Show that other members of the organization of which you are a member (this can also apply to other members who are at your tier of membership) are also top professionals in your field and have a history of outstanding achievements.

2. Show evidence that outstanding achievements in your field are a requirement to attain the membership that you have attained (with specific language on how the organization behind the membership defines "outstanding achievements" in your field).

3. Show that other members have had a significant impact on your field because of their expertise.

All of this also shows why general memberships that are openly accessible to anyone would probably not be considered strong evidence that you meet the membership criterion.

As with many things related to EB-1A, it's all about how you make an argument.

Source.

By Jason from Immigration Jason.

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