How to document judging in the petition

Key answer

Members assemble a bundle: a letter or invitation from the organizers saying you are a judge and why you were chosen, a screenshot of the site listing you among the jury, a screenshot of the judge account with the entries, screenshots of your scores and written reviews, photos from the judging room and media links with group photos of the jury. Plus a description of who else was on the jury (positions and achievements verifiable online), who competed and how significant the contest is. For an editorial board you need minutes of publication decisions or a certificate from the journal. Judging options: peer review, thesis defenses, selecting candidates outside your own role, university committees, adjacent contests.

Community answers

The answers below are translated from the original Russian - the language of the community chats.

In total, I have a letter stating that I am a judge, and how pleased they are that I am judging such a prestigious competition; that the competition is cool and the selection for judges is serious. I have a screenshot of the website with my photo, a screenshot of the judge's account presenting works for judging. I include screenshots of how I judge: a page where I assign scores to specific works, and a screenshot where I write reviews of the works. Plus a description of the strong participants to show that I judged not students in correspondence courses, but professionals in the industry.
I also included a photo of myself in the judging hall with other judges at the laptop, a screenshot of the program where I entered scores, a photo of the laptop with this program, and a sign with my name on the table as a jury member. And links to media where I am included in general photos of the organizers and jury.
You need to prove the significance of the competition itself and its organizers: media coverage of the competition, the official website showing that the event is large-scale. Attach the invitation to judge, a confirmation letter, or a thank you for judging. Next, show who was on the jury with you; select a few of the top jury members and provide information about them: who they are, their positions, titles, and achievements. It's important that all of this can be easily verified publicly. Then show who was among the competitors.
The editorial board definitely qualifies as judging. Moreover, the work is unpaid, and you can't say it's just fulfilling your regular functions. But it's important not only to show that you belong there, but that you did reviews: decision-making protocols from editorial boards are needed, as well as a confirmation letter from the journal about participation in decisions. Otherwise, there is no proof of judging.
There are several judging options: reviews of articles in journals; defending work at qualification advancement competitions, and generally any project defense performed by professionals in selection processes; committees at universities for graduate students; within a company when you are invited to select candidates not for your primary profile; judging at the intersection, for example, if you are in a digital field, you can look for competitions for IT.

The answers are anonymized community experience from the public chats, not legal advice. Officers may decide similar cases differently.

Why "Judging" gets refused

Accepted in 59% of challenged petitions (130 of 219); not an approval rate.

Actual participation in judging is not evidenced. An invitation, a name on a jury page or an acceptance is not proof: the officer wants traces of the work itself.

All refusal grounds and the sample

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All questions on: Judging All questions on: The petition and formatting All questions on: EB-1A All questions on: O-1 visa

How to document judging in the petition

Community answers

Why "Judging" gets refused

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