R-1 nonimmigrant religious worker visa allows qualifying religious institutions in the United States to petition for eligible foreign nationals to work as ministers or in religious vocations or occupations.
Haranlaw advises and works with temples, gurdwara, monasteries and other religious places of worship and non-profit organization contemplating hiring religious workers to these institutions and helps religious workers with R-1 visa processing including initial petitions, change of status, extensions, change of employer and related immigration issues.
Eligibility
A religious worker must be a member of a qualifying religious denomination for a period of two years before a petition is filed.
The position must be with a qualifying religious organization, or an organization affiliated with the religious denomination and the individual must be coming to the United States to work as a
- Minister
- In a religious vocation, or
- A religious occupation
And work for a minimum 20 hrs. a week.
The Process:
R-1 is employer sponsored, and the religious institution must file the Form I-129 along with the necessary evidence. The religious worker status cannot be obtained by the foreign national filing a petition independently.
Some of the supporting evidence may include:
- Tax exempt status
- Its religious nature and purpose
- Affiliation with denomination
- Foreign national’s denomination membership
- Position and employment hours, duties, compensation and other support.
Extension and Change of Employer:
R-1 classification generally permits a maximum of 5 years of physical presence in the United States in R-1 status except when the religious worker did not continuously reside in the United States and employment is seasonal, intermittent or for less than a total of 6 months in a year. R-1 is granted for 30 months initial period to be extended by another 30 months.
A religious worker wishing to change employer must have a new petition filed by the new qualifying organization. This process requires careful evaluation of immigration requirements before the religious worker could begin employment with the new religious institution.
Can R-1 worker obtain another 5-years?
Yes. The maximum period allowed under R-1 is 5 yrs. of physical presence and the foreign nation must leave the United States upon completion of 5 years of U.S. stay in R-1 status.
R-1 status after the five-year maximum
Under the Rules effective 2026, a religious worker is no longer required to remain outside the United States for a year before returning on R-1 status. Also, the new R-1 petition for another 5 years may be filed without waiting for the worker to depart the U.S. The religious worker must, however, depart U.S. before readmission under the new approved r-1 petition. There is no minimum period the R-1 worker is required to remain abroad.
5 years exhausted → new R-1 petition → depart the United States → seek readmission → no one-year waiting period.
R-2 for Dependent Family members:
Spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may be eligible for dependent status.
R-1 and Permanent Residence
Religious workers can qualify for special immigrant permanent resident status provided the religious institution petitioned for the worker under Special immigrant religious worker EB-4 category. Upon approval of the petition the permanent residence may be approved either through adjustment of status or through consular processing.
Child Status Protection Act impacts children approaching 21 years while awaiting derivative immigrant classification under their parent’s permanent residence as a religious worker EB-4 category. However, Child Status Protection Act may preserve their eligibility depending upon their CSPA age, timing of visa availability and CSPA eligibility requirements.