Criterion 6: Scholarly articles

What the USCIS Policy Manual says

Criterion 6: Evidence of the beneficiary's authorship of scholarly articles in the field, in professional journals, or other major media. First, USCIS determines whether the person has authored scholarly articles in the field. Examples of relevant evidence may include, but are not limited to: - Publications in professionally-relevant journals; and - Published conference presentations at nationally or internationally recognized conferences. Considerations: In order to meet this criterion, the beneficiary must be a listed author of the submitted article or articles but need not be the sole or first author. A petitioner need not provide evidence that the beneficiary’s published work has been cited to meet this criterion. In addition, the articles must be scholarly. In the academic arena, a scholarly article reports on original research, experimentation, or philosophical discourse. It is written by a researcher or expert in the field who is often affiliated with a college, university, or research institution. The article is normally peer-reviewed. In general, it should have footnotes, endnotes, or a bibliography, and may include graphs, charts, videos, or pictures as illustrations of the concepts expressed in the article. In non-academic arenas, a scholarly article should be written for learned persons in that field. Second, USCIS determines whether the publication qualifies as a professional publication, major trade publication, or major media publication. In evaluating whether a submitted publication is a professional publication, major trade publication, or major media, relevant factors include the intended audience (for professional and major trade publications) and the relative circulation, readership, or viewership (for major trade publications and other major media).