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As immigration restrictions tighten, Department of Homeland Security is trying to make it easier for religious workers with visas to serve U.S. congregations with less disruption.
The Department of Homeland Security announced a regulatory change Wednesday aimed at reducing visa wait times abroad for foreigners who serve as pastors, priests, nuns, imams and rabbis on whom many U.S. religious groups rely. These religious workers face a years-long backlog in obtaining legal permanent residence in the United States, but churches can bring them into the United States on a temporary visa called an R-1.
The Department of Homeland Security has proposed a solution to an issue that advocates have called for that affects clergy — eliminating the requirement for R-1 religious workers to leave the United States for one year after reaching the five-year visa limit. In the past, the visa time was enough to obtain a green card, but in 2023, the government made changes to the process that greatly extended the visa time, causing most people to have to leave the country. Now, they still need to leave the U.S. but can apply for re-entry immediately.
“We are taking the necessary steps to ensure religious organizations can continue to provide services American Depends,” the DHS statement said. “Priests, nuns and rabbis are vital to the social and moral fabric of this country. We remain committed to finding ways to support and empower these organizations to carry out their critical work. “
Immigration lawyers and faith leaders welcome new rules
The Department of Homeland Security rules ease immigration restrictions at a time when the Trump administration has tightened many other immigration pathways. The Department of Homeland Security’s statement underscores its commitment to protecting religious freedom and minimizing disruption to faith communities.
“This is a big deal,” said Lance Conklin, a Maryland immigration attorney who represents an evangelical church on R1 visa holders. “It might keep people from disrupting the organization because someone has to go away for a year because now that’s a significant mandate.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called it “a truly important step toward supporting essential religious services in the United States.”
In a joint statement, USCCB President Archbishop Paul Coakley and USCCB Immigration Committee Chair Bishop Brendan Cahill thanked the administration for its work on the issue. “The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts to support it cannot be overstated.”
“Hallelujah!” said Olga Rojas, immigration counselor for the Archdiocese of Chicago. “We are delighted that the government has made this change. It is helpful to us so we do not have to lose valuable religious workers who make a huge contribution to our parishes and schools.”
The U.S. Catholic Church has long relied on foreign-born clergy due to a shortage of priests. Other traditions, from Buddhism to Pentecostal Christianity, also recruit foreign-born clergy to serve growing non-English speaking churches, or because they have received specialized training from international institutions with deep knowledge of the religion’s history.
2023 changes to extend wait times
The five-year R1 visa once gave congregations enough time to apply for green cards under the EB-4 special category, which would allow clergy to become permanent residents.
congress Quotas for green cards available each year are set and divided into categories, nearly all of which are based on the type of employment or family relationship with a U.S. citizen. In most categories, demand exceeds annual quotas.
Citizens of countries with particularly high demand are put into separate, often longer “queues” that can take decades to process applications.
There are also immigrant children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador who have “special immigrant juvenile status,” meaning minors who have been neglected or abused. Since the mid-2010s, hundreds of thousands of people have sought humanitarian green cards or asylum after entering the United States illegally, despite the Trump administration’s recent crackdown on the program.
March 2023, State Council under the leadership of the president Joe Biden Minors suddenly started being added to the green card queue along with clergy.
It creates a new backlog that threatens the ability of religious workers to remain in the United States. There are no exact numbers, but it is estimated that thousands of religious workers are backlogged in the green card system or have not yet been able to apply.
In the summer of 2024, the Catholic Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, and its five affected priests sued the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The 2023 changes “will cause severe and substantial disruption to the lives and religious freedoms of priests and the faithful they serve,” the lawsuit said. The lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed in the fall of 2025 “so that the agency could take action and/or enact rules that would render the relief sought by the plaintiffs from the court moot,” according to court documents.
In the spring of 2025, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives calling for a minor amendment similar to Wednesday’s Department of Homeland Security rule that would allow visa extensions for religious workers while their green card applications are pending.
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Del Otto reported from Minneapolis.
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AP religion coverage is supported through the AP’s partnership with The Conversation US and grants from the Lilly Endowment Inc. The Associated Press is solely responsible for this content.