Religious Workers

 Nonimmigrant religious workers may be admitted to the United States for a period of five years through the “R-1” visa classification. To qualify, the foreign national must be a member of a religious denomination that has a bona fide 501(c)(3) non-profit religious organization in the United States for at least two years immediately preceding the time of application for admission. The foreign national will be working in a ministerial or religious vocation that requires at least twenty hours of employment per week. 

A minister is defined as an individual who is fully authorized by a religious denomination, and fully trained according to the denomination's standards, to conduct religious worship and perform other duties usually performed by authorized members of the clergy of that denomination. A religious occupation is more expansive an includes positions that primarily relate to a traditional religious function and be recognized as a religious occupation within the denomination, such as a youth pastor. Religious study or training does not meet the requirements of a religious occupation. Only ministers may take advantage of the EB-4 green card path. 

To obtain an R-1 visa, the U.S. religious institution must file a Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Worker, with USCIS. Monetary compensation for the R-1 worker must be firmly established before the petition is filed – this can become a difficult issue for some organizations. USCIS is authorized to conduct site visits and these often occur before approval of the initial R-1 petition. The grant of R-1 is employer-specific, meaning that R-1 visa workers can only work for their petitioning institution – they cannot work for other affiliated religious institutions until a new R-1 petition is filed by the affiliated institution and approved by USCIS.

R-1 visa holders who have exhausted their 5-year limit must remain outside the United States for one year before they can return pursuant to another grant of R-1 status. Spouses and children under twenty-one may join the principal visa holder in R-2 status, but they are not eligible to seek employment in the United States.