The bishops of the United States are welcoming a new rule that will allow foreign-born priests and other religious workers to have a chance to continue their ministry despite a backlog in permanent residency applications.
Prior to a new rule announced January 14, when a religious worker visa expired after its five-year term, the person was required to spend at least one year outside the United States before applying for a new one.
With the new rule, the worker still must depart the US, but can apply to re-enter right away.
This rule applies to Catholic priests, religious, and other individuals such as rabbis and Protestant ministers who hold the religious worker visa, known as the R-1.
About one quarter of priests in the United States are foreign-born, though not all of them require visas as some are already naturalized citizens.
“For multiple years, the USCCB has been alerting policymakers to the hardship this situation creates for religious organizations and people of faith, especially in more isolated or rural parts of the country," a statement from the bishops explained.
Aimed for stability
This Interim Final Rule issued by the Trump Administration is expected to bring much needed stability to parishes across the United States.
Prior to the January 14 change, holders of the R-1 visa would have to depart the United States if they had reached the maximum time limit of five years and remain outside of the United States for at least one full year before returning on a new R-1 visa (if they were issued one).
This recent decision allows religious workers to avoid that one-year wait time, keeping churches and faith groups from losing key staff during those delays.
This issue has been pressing for the last few years because a change to permanent residency applications means that one five-year R-1 visa is not enough time for a priest or other minister to gain residency. The backlog for residency applications is several decades long. Thus, these foreign-born ministers need to apply for a succession of R-1 visas in order to continue their US ministry.
Targeted change
The USCCB’s president, Archbishop Paul Coakley, along with Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration made a statement.
“We are tremendously grateful for the Administrations’ work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve. 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.”
“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.”
This bill, introduced in April 2025, lets the Department of Homeland Security extend the R-1 visas. This ruling provides immediate assistance to religious workers and their communities.
Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, captured the joy many feel, sharing on X that the change brings “much-needed stability to the parish communities and the people they serve.”
The rule is to be detailed soon in the Federal Register, the official daily journal of the U.S. government.
Learn about the process of visas with this USCCB fact sheet.
