R-1 Visa
All religious workers who want to work in US for religious organizations, who meet all the eligibility criteria with a successful application process can work in the U.S on a R-1 visa.
A religious organization is formed by a community of people who believe and are governed by rules of an ecclesiastical government. They have organizations that are religious, who have a shared place of worship, shared code of discipline and doctrine. They worship similarly, sharing faith among their members who perform similar rituals, services, and ceremonies.
The foreign religious worker applying to work in a religious organization need to ensure that the organization is listed as a non-profit organization. with the R1 visa a religious worker can work for about 5 years.
Individuals who are directly tied to the religious work and are in a minister position are qualified to get R1 visa. With the R-1 visa an individual is allowed to live and work in the U.S for the duration of their visa. There are some workers who work part time in the U.S in religious positions. They are not prohibited from working in other countries, while travelling to the U.S for various periods of time to fulfill their work duties.
This means that if you get the R-1 visa, you are not required to stay in the U.S for the whole time that your visa is valid, but you can also go work in other countries.
Organization for hiring a religious worker need to fulfill the following conditions
- The petitioner who is a non-profit religious organization needs to have its own Internal Revenue Service letter of 501(c)(3) and with a group tax exemption.
- The organization has to be a non-profit organization, either one of the registered organizations in the U.S.
- A non-profit organization affiliated with a religion which has tax exemptions under 501(c)(3) rules.
The person who is applying for the R-1 visa must fulfill the following conditions:
- The applicant must be a member of a religion for the past two years and a minister or a person working directly in the religious occupation.
- Applicants religion must have a non-profit organization in the U.S.
- Find a job in the non-profit religious organization, or an organization affiliated with the religion with a commitment of working at least 20 hours per week (part-time).