What is a R Visa?

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) 101(a)(15)(R) provides a nonimmigrant visa category "R" for individuals seeking to enter the United States to work in a religious capacity on a temporary basis.

Qualifying as a Religious Worker

Religious workers include individuals authorized by a recognized employing entity to conduct religious worship and to perform other duties usually performed by authorized members of the clergy of that religion, and workers engaging in a religious vocation or occupation.

• The applicant must be a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the U.S.;
• The religious denomination and its affiliate, if applicable, are exempt from taxation, or the religious denomination qualifies for tax- exempt status; and
• The applicant has been a member of the denomination for two years immediately preceding application for religious worker status.

The applicant is planning to work as a minister of that denomination, or in a religious occupation or vocation for a bona fide, non-profit religious organization (or a tax-exempt affiliate of such an organization).

• There is no requirement that individuals applying for "R" visas have a residence abroad that they have no intention of abandoning. However, they must intend to depart the United States at the end of their lawful status, absent specific indications or evidence to the contrary.
• The applicant has resided and been physically present outside the United States for the immediate prior year if he or she has previously spent five years in this classification.

Petitions

In order to be considered as a nonimmigrant under the above classification, the applicant's prospective employer must file a Form I-129, Petition for Nonimmigrant Alien Worker, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The petition, Form I-129, must be approved by DHS/USCIS before the prospective religious worker can apply for a visa at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate abroad.  It should be noted that the approval of a petition shall not guarantee visa issuance to an applicant found to be ineligible under provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.  It is very important for prospective employers to file the petition as soon as possible (but not more than 6 months before the proposed employment will begin) to provide adequate time for petition and subsequent visa processing.

Applying for the visa

Religious workers should generally apply at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate with jurisdiction over their place of permanent residence. Although visa applicants may apply at any U.S. consular office abroad, it may be more difficult to qualify for the visa outside the country of permanent residence.

Required Documentation

Each applicant for a visitor visa must submit these forms and documentation as explained below.

• An application, Nonimmigrant Visa Application, Form DS -156, completed and signed. The DS-156 must be the March 2006 date, electronic "e-form application."
• A passport valid for travel to the United States and with a validity date at least six months beyond the applicant's intended period of stay in the United States (unless country-specific agreements provide exemptions). If more than one person is included in the passport, each person must complete an application.
• One (1) 2x2 photograph. See the required photo format explained in Nonimmigrant Photograph Requirements.
• All male nonimmigrant visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45, regardless of nationality and regardless of where they apply, must complete and submit a form DS-157 in addition to the Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-156).
• As part of the visa application process, an interview at the embassy consular section is required for almost all visa applicants.
• Applicable fees for Department of State.

Additional Documentation

To schedule the interview appointment, you will need the receipt number that is printed on the approved Form I-129 petition. NOTE: During your interview, the consular officer will use the receipt number to verify the Form I-129 petition approval. Therefore, Form I-797 is not used to verify petition approval for your visa interview. Consular officers may request whatever documentation is required, and the applicant must be prepared to present to the consular officer any or all of the following documentation to verify that the applicant and the religious organization qualify for the R status, including:

(1) Proof of tax-exempt status or eligibility for tax-exempt status and;

(2) A letter from an authorized official of the specific unit of the employing organization certifying:

• That if the applicant's religious membership was maintained, in whole or in part, outside the United States, the foreign and United States religious organizations belong to the same religious denomination;
• That, immediately prior to the application for the R visa, the alien has been a member of the religious denomination for the required two- year period;

• If the applicant is a minister, he or she is authorized to conduct religious worship for that denomination. The duties should be described in detail; or
• If the applicant is a religious professional, he or she has at least a baccalaureate degree or its equivalent, and that such a degree is required for entry into the religious profession; or
• If the applicant is to work in a nonprofessional vocation or occupation, he or she is qualified if the type of work to be done relates to a traditional religious function;
• The arrangements for remuneration, including the amount and source of salary, other types of compensation such as food and housing, and any other benefits to which a monetary value may be affixed, and a statement whether such remuneration shall be in exchange for services rendered;
• The name and location of the specific organizational unit of the religious denomination or affiliate for which the applicant will be providing services;
• If the alien is to work for an organization that is affiliated with a religious denomination, a description of the nature of the relationship between the two organizations;
• Evidence of the religious organization's assets and methods of operation; and The organization's papers of incorporation under applicable state law.

Entering the U.S. - Port of Entry

A visa allows a foreign citizen coming from abroad, to travel to the United States port-of entry and request permission to enter the U.S. Applicants should be aware that a visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authority to grant or deny admission to the United States. If you are allowed to enter the U.S., the CBP official will determine the length of your visit on the Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94. Since the Form I-94 documents your authorized stay in the U.S., it is important to keep it inside your passport. Upon arrival (at an international airport, seaport, or land border crossing), you will be enrolled in the US-VISIT entry-exit program. In addition, some travelers will also need to register their entry into and their departure from the U.S. with the Special Registration program.

How do I Extend My Stay?

Religious workers seeking to stay beyond the time indicated on their Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, must have approval from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), to extend their stay. The decision to grant or deny a request for extension of stay is made solely by USCIS.

Staying Beyond Your Authorized Stay in the U.S. and Being Out of Status

• You should carefully consider the dates of your authorized stay and make sure you are following the procedures under U.S. immigration laws. It is important that you depart the U.S. on or before the last day you are authorized to be in the U.S. on any given trip, based on the specified end date on your Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94. Failure to depart the U.S. will cause you to be out-of-status.
• Staying beyond the period of time authorized by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and being out-of-status in the U.S. is a violation of U.S. immigration law. You may become ineligible for a visa in the future for return travel to the United States. Select Classes of Aliens Ineligible to Receive Visas to learn more.
• Staying unlawfully in the United States beyond the date Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials have authorized--even by one day--results in your visa being automatically voided, in accordance with INA 222(g). Under this provision of immigration law, if you overstay your nonimmigrant authorized stay in the U.S., your visa will be automatically voided. In this situation, you are required to reapply for a new nonimmigrant visa, generally in your country of nationality.
• For nonimmigrants in the U.S. who have an Arrival-Departure Record, Form I-94, with the CBP admitting officer endorsement of Duration of Status or D/S, but who are no longer performing the same function in the U.S. that they were originally admitted to perform (e.g. you are no longer working for the same employer or you are no longer attending the same school), an official from DHS or an immigration judge may make a finding of a status violation, resulting in the termination of the period of authorized stay.

Family Members

A nonimmigrant religious worker's spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may be granted derivative status. They may study, but may not accept employment in the United States.

 

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