Types of Visa Classes

Religious Workers: R

• Description
• Qualifications
• Other Information
• Application Items

Description

If your U.S. stay is for temporary work in a religious capacity, you may be eligible for an R visa. Applicants must meet strict qualifications regarding their religious affiliation, their prospective duties in the United States and the tax-free status of their denomination.

There is no requirement that applicants for R visas have a residence abroad which they have no intention of abandoning, but they must intend to depart the United States at the end of their lawful status.

Persons seeking R status must plan to enter the United States solely to:

1. Carry on the vocation of a minister of the religious denomination; or
2. Work in a professional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation or organization within the denomination; or
3. Work in a religious vocation or occupation for an organization within the denomination, or for a bona fide organization which is affiliated with the religious denomination. Bona fide religious organizations in the United States must have tax exempt status as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

A religious vocation means a calling to religious life, as evidenced by the demonstration of a lifelong commitment, such as taking vows. Examples include nuns, monks, and religious brothers and sisters. A religious occupation means a habitual engagement in an activity which relates to a traditional religious function. Examples include liturgical workers, religious instructors or cantors, catechists, workers in religious hospitals, missionaries, religious translators, or religious broadcasters. It does not include janitors, maintenance workers, clerks, fund raisers, solicitors of donations, or similar occupations. The activity of a lay-person who will be engaged in a religious occupation must relate to a traditional religious function: i.e., the activity must embody the tenets of the religion and have religious significance, relating primarily, if not exclusively, to matters of the spirit as they apply to the religion.

Qualifications
The applicant:

• Must be a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the United States;
• Must have been a member of the denomination for two years immediately preceding the time of application;
• Must be entering the United States solely to carry on the vocation of a minister of that denomination, or, at the request of the organization, is entering the United States to work in a religious vocation or occupation for the denomination or for an organization affiliated with the denomination, whether in a professional capacity or not; and
• Must have resided and been physically present outside the United States for the immediate prior year if s/he has previously spent five years in this R classification.
  AND:
• The religious denomination and its affiliate, if applicable, must have tax exempt status as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (IRS) of 1986.

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Other Information

Dependents: Spouses and/or unmarried children under the age of 21 who wish to accompany or join the principal visa holder in the United States for the duration of his/her stay require derivative R-2 visas. Spouses and/or children who do not intend to reside in the United States with the principal visa holder, but visit for vacations only, may be eligible to apply for visitor (B-2) visas.

Spouses and children may not work in the United States on a derivative R visa. If seeking employment, the appropriate work visa will be required.

Time limits: The initial admission period for ministers and religious workers entering the United States in R status is limited to three years. Employers must file an I-129 petition with USCIS to request an extension, which may be granted for a total stay not to exceed five years.

Application Items

All required documents for any non-immigrant visa plus:

• A letter from an authorized official of the specific unit of the employing organization certifying that:
  1. 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;
  2. 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;
  3. (as appropriate):
     If applicant is a minister, s/he is authorized to conduct religious worship for that denomination. The duties should be described in detail; or
     If applicant is a religious professional, s/he has at least a baccalaureate degree or equivalent, and that such a degree is required for entry into the religious profession; or
     If 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;
  4. AND include: The name and location of the specific organizational unit of the religious denomination or affiliate for which the applicant will be providing services;
  5. the capacity in which the applicant will be working; and
  6. 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 whether such remuneration shall be in exchange for services rendered;
• If the applicant is to work for an organization 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.
• Proof of the organization's religious operating status as defined in 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.
• Proof that, immediately prior to the application for the R visa, the applicant has been a member of the religious denomination for the required two-year period.

Dependents:
All required documents for any non-immigrant visa plus:

• Original marriage (spouse) and/or birth certificates (unmarried children under 21);
• If not applying at the same time as the principal applicant: A copy of the principal applicant's passport and his/her U.S. visa. If a copy of the passport is submitted, it should be legible and the photo clearly identifiable; and
• A letter from the spouse's employer confirming continued employment