The Religious Worker (R) visa category is designed for individuals from other countries who want to temporarily work in religious occupations or vocations in the United States. This nonimmigrant visa, known as the R-1 visa, allows individuals to stay for a maximum of five years. Initially, they are granted a stay of up to 30 months, which can be extended for an additional 30 months. After completing five years in R-1 status, the individual must leave the United States and remain physically outside the country for one year in order to be eligible to reenter on the R-1 visa.
Religious workers are individuals who engage in religious activities such as conducting worship and performing duties typically carried out by ordained or authorized members of religious denominations. They work in religious vocations or occupations. To qualify for the R-1 visa, the foreign national must meet certain requirements. They must have been a member of the religious denomination for at least two years before applying for the visa, have the intention to work as a minister or in a religious occupation or vocation for a legitimate non-profit religious organization, plan to depart the United States when their authorized stay ends unless there is evidence to the contrary, and be coming to work for the petitioning entity for an average of at least 20 hours per week.
Regardless of whether the foreign national is in the United States or a foreign country, the first step in applying for this visa category is to file an I-129 petition with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). All religious worker petitions are reviewed and processed by the California Service Center. As part of the adjudication process, USCIS conducts a site visit to the petitioning entity to verify that it is a legitimate functioning religious organization.
