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Hackathons: do wins and judging count?

Key answer

Hackathon wins are weak but usable building blocks: rarely counted alone, yet a series of wins spread over time supports the sustained-acclaim picture. Judging counts if you judged professional peers (not students), it was not part of your job duties, and you were invited for your expertise.

Community answers

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

  • As explained by attorneys: you should judge those equal to you; it should not be your official duty, and you should be invited because of your extraordinary abilities. Everything else does not qualify.

  • It will count. Moreover, achievements spread over time look better than those received just before applying—an officer will not feel you are stretching a case just to get a visa.

  • In my petition, I did not mention judging students, although I specifically searched for cool student hackathons. Lifehack: you can be a member of the program committee for a professional conference.

  • A specific award may be unrecognized but adds to the overall background: the petitioner is constantly winning something.

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

Why "Awards" gets refused

Accepted in 14% of challenged petitions (25 of 184); not an approval rate.

The award itself is not shown to enjoy national or international recognition. Officers assess the prize itself, not merely the fact that you won it.

All refusal grounds and the sample

Sources

All questions on: JudgingAll questions on: AwardsAll questions on: IT professionals

Related on this site

Similar questions

A reference page built from community experience, not legal advice. Requirements and practice change - verify on uscis.gov.

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