Immigration Law

New Rules Implemented For Religious Worker Visas

By Robert Kraft

In an effort to detect and deter fraud in the religious worker program, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) implemented significant changes to the special immigrant and non-immigrant (R-1) religious worker rules. The new rule became effective November 26, 2008.
 
Some of the changes in the new rule requires sponsoring employers to submit the petition on the foreign national's behalf for R-1 status, provides increased on-site inspection by USCIS, includes compensation requirements, reduces initial period of admission on R-1 status to 30 months, and increases employer’s evidentiary requirements.
 
One significant change is that an employer must sponsor the nonimmigrant religious worker by submitting the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker (Form I-129). Additionally, the employer must now submit a determination letter by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) which will verify the religious organization’s tax-exempt status. In order to obtain a determination letter, the religious organization must pay a one time fee to the IRS. R-1 visa holders will now be admitted for an initial period of up to 30 months and may extend their stay for an additional period of 30 months.
 
For further information on the new revisions, please call us at 214-999-9999.

Full post as published by Immigration Law Answers Blog on January 07, 2009 (boomark / email).