Membership in associations: the two-part test people miss half of

"Membership in associations in the field which require outstanding achievements of their members, as judged by recognized national or international experts" has two separate requirements, and petitions regularly satisfy one while missing the other entirely. Part one: the association has to require outstanding achievement to join — not just payment of dues, a degree, or years of practice. Part two: that requirement has to be judged by recognized experts in the field, not by an administrative committee checking a box. What tends to work: - A named, credentialed admissions or fellowship committee, with its composition documented - The association's own published membership criteria, showing an actual achievement bar (not just "must hold a license" or "must pay annual dues") - Evidence of the acceptance rate or selectivity, where available — a low acceptance rate is persuasive, but even without a number, a clearly gatekept process helps What tends not to: professional associations that anyone in the field can join by paying dues and self-attesting to a license or degree. These are common and often genuinely useful for networking, but they don't satisfy this specific criterion, because the "achievement" being required is credentialing, not outstanding accomplishment as judged by experts.