WASHINGTON — The Department of Homeland Security said Jan. 14 it issued an interim final rule reducing wait times for religious worker visas. Catholic advocates were among those who pushed the Trump administration to address the backlog in their visa category.
In its announcement, the department said its regulation change would reduce the wait time applicants are required to remain outside the U.S.
A spokesperson for DHS said in a statement the department “is committed to protecting and preserving freedom and expression of religion.”
“We are taking the necessary steps to ensure religious organizations can continue delivering the services that Americans depend on,” the spokesperson said. “Pastors, priests, nuns, and rabbis are essential to the social and moral fabric of this country. We remain committed to finding ways to support and empower these organizations in their critical work.”
The new rule removes the requirement for R-1 religious workers to reside outside the U.S. for a year upon reaching the visa’s statutory five-year maximum period.
DHS said in its announcement that while R-1 religious workers will still have to leave the U.S., there is no longer a minimum time requirement for them to reside and be physically present outside the U.S. before reapplying for the R-1 visa.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said in a joint statement, “We are tremendously grateful for the Administration’s work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve.”
The DHS announcement came shortly after Archbishop Coakley met with President Donald Trump at the White House, although the topics of their Jan. 12 meeting have not been made public.
The USCCB is among the organizations that have worked to address the religious worker visa backlog. Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, the migration committee’s previous chair, told the bishops’ fall plenary assembly in Baltimore in November that he was “very optimistic” there would be “positive developments in the very near future” on the issue of religious worker visas.
R-1 non-immigrant religious worker visas allow some religious workers outside the U.S. — such as Catholic priests and nuns — to legally enter the U.S. to serve their faith communities. These are initially granted for a 30-month period, with one possible renewal allowing for a total of 5 years, so they can be in the U.S. to carry out ministry work.
While within that window, they can apply for employment-based EB-4 status so they can legally remain in the U.S. without interruption. However, there is a significant backlog for such visas, as there is greater demand than the number of visas issued. That backlog could have a grave impact on the church in the U.S., as the National Study of Catholic Priests — released in 2022 by The Catholic University of America’s Catholic Project — indicated 24% of priests serving in the U.S. are foreign-born, with many of them also subject to visa renewals.
The R-1 visa rule change, by eliminating the requirement to have residency outside the U.S. for one year before reapplying, is expected to help prevent these religious workers serving U.S. faith communities from having to be reassigned outside the U.S.
In their statement, Archbishop Coakley and Bishop Cahill added, “The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts undertaken to support it cannot be overstated.”
“This targeted change is a truly significant step that will help facilitate essential religious services for Catholics and other people of faith throughout the United States by minimizing disruptions to cherished ministries,” they said. “In order to provide the full extent of the relief needed and truly promote the free exercise of religion in our country, we continue to urge Congress to enact the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act.”
That legislation, if enacted, would permit religious workers already in the U.S. on temporary R-1 status with pending EB-4 applications to stay in the U.S. while waiting for permanent residency. The bipartisan legislation was introduced in the Senate by Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and in the House by Reps. Mike Carey, R-Ohio, and Richard Neal, D-Mass. In statements at the time, Kaine and Collins both cited priest shortages in their states. All five lawmakers behind the legislation are Catholic.
Miguel Naranjo, director of religious immigration services at the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, also known as CLINIC, said in comments to OSV News, “The Department of Homeland Security’s decision to reduce the minimum time foreign-born religious workers must spend outside the country before re-applying for R1 status is a positive and pragmatic step — one that CLINIC, our partners and faith leaders across the country have advocated for.”
“However, while today’s DHS announcement offers welcome relief, religious workers are still required to depart the U.S. after five years, even though they may now return for a new R-1 period without waiting a full year abroad,” Naranjo said.
“This change, while helpful,” he added, “does not fully resolve the challenges facing clergy, particularly as travel bans continue to prevent many from obtaining visas at all. We hope this and future DHS decisions reflect a deeper recognition of the vital role foreign-born clergy and faith workers play in sustaining U.S. congregations, faith-based nonprofits, and the communities in which they serve.
In a statement, the Hope Border Institute, a group that works to apply the perspective of Catholic social teaching in policy and practice to the U.S.-Mexico border region, said, “Our foreign-born priests and religious are critical to the fabric of the Catholic Church in this country.”
“Immigrants play a crucial role in the strength of our faith communities, and this was a crucial step to guarantee that many parishes and local communities can have a reprieve from the uncertainty surrounding the ability of their priests and religious to remain in the United States,” their statement said. “However, we still await an end to the attacks on the dignity of every person through mass deportations, which continue to threaten all of our migrant brothers and sisters, who are all part of the crucial foundation of the Church in the United States.”
The regulation change comes as Catholic advocates have expressed concern about some other Trump administration immigration policies.
At their November meeting, the bishops approved a “special pastoral message” — their first since 2013 when they objected to the Obama administration’s contraceptive mandate — voicing “our concern here for immigrants.” The bishops’ special message opposed “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” and also prayed “for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.”
The statement, which did not name Trump, came as a growing number of bishops have acknowledged that some of the administration’s immigration policies risk presenting the church with both practical challenges in administering pastoral support and charitable endeavors, as well as religious liberty challenges, such as a policy easing restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship.
J. Kevin Appleby, senior fellow for policy at the Center for Migration Studies in New York and the former director of migration policy at the USCCB, told OSV News that the DHS regulation change was “very good news for the Church in the US.”
He said, “It will help the bishops provide pastoral care to the Catholic faithful nationwide, especially immigrant communities, by ensuring foreign-born clergy can continue their ministries. Moving forward, the bishops will be able to meet the pastoral needs of their flock with confidence.”
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
