‘Fixes in the works’ to address religious visa backlog

As the nation prepares for an administration change next month, Catholic leaders are urging the government to address a backlog in permanent residency applications for foreign priests and religious in the United States, and a bill addressing the issue is expected to be introduced in the U.S. Senate next month.

If not addressed, the backlog will force large numbers of priests and religious in the United States to leave the country for a year at a time, before returning with a new temporary religious worker visa — a problem that has already begun to impact parishes and religious communities.

While the U.S. bishops’ conference declined comment on its ongoing advocacy, several sources have told The Pillar in recent weeks that both conference staffers and the directors of state Catholic conferences have been lobbying federal lawmakers to address the issue.

“The USCCB is working closely on this issue, and the state Catholic conference directors were on [Capitol] Hill last week advocating on this issue,” one source told The Pillar.

“There are a few fixes in the works,” said another source close to the lobbying, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record.

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