Every year, approximately 5,000 people enter the United States from abroad to be religious workers. However, extensive immigration backlogs are forcing religious workers out of work, and in some cases, even forcing them to leave the country.
One mechanism through which religious workers gain legal status in the United States is the R-1 visa. The R-1 visa permits nonimmigrants to enter the United States temporarily to be employed at least part-time by a bona fide nonprofit religious organization here, working solely as a minister, in a religious vocation, or in a religious occupation.
Under the R-1 visa, a religious worker may stay in the United States for 30 months, and that period can be extended up to 5 years. However, when the R-1 employment ends, the religious worker must leave the country. The processing time for an R-1 visa varies, but without premium processing, it can be as much as 6 to 12 months.
For many religious workers, the R-1 visa is a steppingstone to lawful permanent residence (a green card). Religious workers are often eligible for an employment-based fourth preference visa, otherwise known as an EB-4 visa. To apply, the religious worker must file a Form I-360 petition with USCIS, and if granted, this petition provides the religious worker with a green card. Unlike the R-1 nonimmigrant visa, which has no numerical limit, the EB-4 category can provide no more than 10,000 green...
President Lee Jae Myung on Friday reaffirmed his commitment to keeping Cabinet meetings open to the public, expressing "deep regret over false claims" that live broadcasts were preventing minister...