DHS Says It Will Reduce Wait Times for Religious Workers Outside the US

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Jan. 14 that it will reduce wait times for thousands of foreign religious workers to be readmitted to the United States, allowing them to return to the country in a timely manner.

Workers such as “priests, nuns, and rabbis” who were previously “required to remain outside the United States before returning” can now “resume their essential services,” according to DHS.

In effect, the rule would significantly reduce the wait time for workers to reenter the United States, thereby mitigating “disruptions for faith-based communities” in the country, DHS said.

“Pastors, priests, nuns, and rabbis are essential to the social and moral fabric of this country,” a DHS spokesperson said. “We remain committed to finding ways to support and empower these organizations in their critical work.”

Specifically, the rule removes the requirement for R-1 religious workers to reside outside the United States for one year when they reach the statutory five-year maximum period of stay.

While the R-1 religious workers will still have to leave the United States after the period ends, there is no longer a minimum time requirement for them to remain physically outside the country before they can reapply for a similar visa, it said.

Changes implemented by the Biden administration in 2023 increased wait times for religious workers and those in the EB-4 category, according to the DHS.

“These delays have caused many religious workers to exhaust their maximum period of stay in R-1 status,” DHS said.

“By eliminating the one-year foreign residency requirement, USCIS is reducing the time religious organizations are left without their trusted clergy and non-ministerial religious workers.”

The department said the rule change will soon be published in the Federal Register, allowing the public to comment on the proposal before it goes into effect.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, an organization representing Catholic bishops in the United States, praised the Trump administration’s move and said it would benefit Catholics in the country.

“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,” Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, head of the organization, said in a statement.

“The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts undertaken to support it cannot be overstated.”

Meanwhile, the State Department said it is pausing immigrant visa processing for nationals from 75 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Cuba, Nigeria, Russia, and Somalia, whose nationals the Trump administration has deemed likely to require public assistance while living in the United States.

The State Department, led by Secretary Marco Rubio, said it had instructed consular officers to halt immigrant visa applications from the affected countries, in accordance with a broader order issued in November that tightened rules for potential immigrants who might become “public charges” in the United States.

“The Trump administration is bringing an end to the abuse of America’s immigration system by those who would extract wealth from the American people,” the State Department said in a statement.

“Immigrant visa processing from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassesses immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.