Bipartisan bill would allow foreign-born clergy to keep serving in the US

A bipartisan group of lawmakers this week introduced a bill aimed at preventing the abrupt departure of foreign-born religious workers from U.S. faith communities due to visa backlogs. 

The Religious Workforce Protection Act, introduced by Reps. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, Richard Neal, D-Mass., Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Fla., and Pete Stauber, R-Minn., offers a targeted fix to ensure religious workers on R-1 visas can continue their ministry while awaiting permanent residency.

Rep. Carey explained the bill’s purpose in an April 9 press release.

“Religious organizations across the country continuously rely on religious workers to help meet the needs of their communities,” he said. “That’s why I’m proud to lead this common sense, bipartisan legislation to ensure that places of worship can operate without disruptions despite the current backlog in EB-4 processing times.”

Under existing law, religious workers on R-1 visas are limited to five years of stay. If they haven’t secured permanent residency within that window, they must leave the country for a year before reapplying — a disruption that many churches are currently facing.

The proposed legislation would grant the Department of Homeland Security authority to extend R-1 status beyond five years for workers with pending EB-4 applications — provided they are eligible for permanent residence and their sponsoring religious organization has filed the appropriate petition. It also introduces limited flexibility for workers to move within ministries without restarting the lengthy application process.

Rep. Neal explained that his office recently began hearing from the Diocese of Springfield about priests at risk of removal due to green card delays. 

“Failure to address this issue would affect not just Massachusetts, but faith-based organizations nationwide,” he said, later adding, “This legislation will ensure they can continue their vital work for years to come.”

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