Question regarding the Membership Documentation Letters

G

gvswisconsin

Registered Users (C)
Dear Friends,

I am in the process of gathering materials for my NIW application. I have the following questions:

What kind of documentation should be furnished for the proof of membership in professional associations?

In my case some associations like the
AACR-American Association of Cancer Research
ASPET-American Society of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Sigma Xi
aleady have their membership criteria and selection process online. Besides they also mail membership card and welcome letter. Do these suffice?

In some other associations like Society of Developmental Biology, these are not available clearly. In this case I have requested them for a letter. Could anyone elaborate on the containts of these letters?

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

GVS
 
dear gvs

If you cannot show that your membership is because you are better in your profession than others, membership of these societies is not relevant for your petition. Membership of AACR, ASPET, and Sigma Xi can be obtained almost simply by earning your PhD. That is not better than anyone in your field. If on the other hand your membership is honorary or you have been named a fellow, that changes things.

Juribu
 
Hi GVW

The requirement for NIW is : Documentation of your memberships in associations in the academic field which require outstanding achievement of their members. Where the bolded part is important.

Memberships that you get just through paying fees or for writing 1 or 2 articles don't hold much weight with USCIS to prove outstanding achievement, since anyone in science would fall under that category. If you can prove that your membership is due to outstanding achievement and something not anyone can get, then you should provide the acceptance letters and criteria.

Sigma Xi for instance has not been important to USCIS to prove this criteria because it is so easy to be accepted. I see that AACR has an honorary membership that would be good to claim under this category if that is what you have.

So in short you can send them with your application but they do nothing to bolster your claim for NIW.

Kariboo
 
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