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R-1 Religious Worker Visa
R-1 Religious Worker Visa
Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) §101(a)(15)(R), persons wishing to enter the United States to work temporarily with a religious group need to apply for an R visa. Religious workers include persons assigned by a prominent religious group to conduct religious services and perform other duties (usually performed by religious clergy), as well as persons engaged in religious occupations or jobs.
Application Conditions
Religious workers include persons assigned by a prominent religious group to conduct religious services and perform other duties (usually performed by religious clergy), as well as persons engaged in religious occupations or jobs. To apply for a religious worker visa, the following conditions should be met:
1. Must belong to a religious denomination, and the denomination is a non-profit religious group recognized by U.S. law.
2. Your religious denomination and its affiliates (if applicable) must be exempt or eligible for tax exemption.
3. You must meet the following criteria:
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Be a member of a religious denomination for two years before applying for a religious worker visa;
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Plans to serve as a minister of the denomination to which you belong or to hold a religious position in a legal nonprofit religious group (or a tax-exempt affiliate of such a group);
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Residing outside the United States one year prior to application and having previously served in the denomination for five years.
4. You must prove that you will leave the United States when your legal status ends, and that there are no special circumstances or evidence indicating that you will not return to the United States.
Application for approval (Petition):
The U.S. religious group where you are employed must submit Form I-129 (Petition for Nonimmigrant Temporary Worker Approval) to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and receive approval.
Note: U.S. religious groups preparing to hire applicants should submit applications as early as possible (but no earlier than 6 months before employment) to allow sufficient time for approval and subsequent visa processing.
You must wait for the I-129 petition to be approved before you can apply for a visa at the embassy/consulate. After the application is approved, the applicant's employer or agency will be issued Form I-797 (Approval Notice) as proof of application. During the interview, the visa officer will verify the applicant's application approval through the U.S. Department of State's Application Information Management System (PIMS).
Applicants should present their I-129 approval number for verification by the visa officer during the interview at the embassy/consulate. Please note that application approval is not a guarantee of obtaining a visa, and applicants may still be denied a visa because they do not meet the requirements of U.S. immigration laws.
