What is the difference between 'membership' and 'association' with an organization for security inadmissibility?

"Membership" is generally understood broadly under immigration law — it doesn't require a formal card-carrying role, a fee-paying status, or an official title; it can include being accepted as part of an organization in a real and meaningful sense, based on the actual relationship between the person and the group. "Association," by contrast, refers to a looser connection: interacting with, supporting, or being linked to an organization without being considered a member of it in that broader sense.

Both can potentially support a security-related inadmissibility finding depending on the specific organization and conduct involved, but they are assessed somewhat differently. Membership tends to focus on whether the person was genuinely part of the organization's structure or activities, while association looks more at the nature, frequency, and purpose of the person's contact with the organization or its members.

Because both concepts are applied broadly and fact-specifically, and because the line between casual contact and something that counts as membership or meaningful association isn't always obvious, anyone facing a security-related concern involving a group they were connected to in any way should get a full, honest account of that connection reviewed by a lawyer rather than assuming a lack of formal membership settles the question.