I360 Religious Worker Two Years Continuous Employment Volunteering
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The Non-Minister Sunset Provision is a temporary law that allows religious brothers, sisters and foreign nationals working in a religious occupation to become permanent residents. This article provides a brief overview of the updates to the Non-Minister Sunset Provision.
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The Centers for Disease Control has made updates to the COVID-19 testing and vaccination requirements. An individual traveling to the United States from a foreign country must comply with these updated travel restrictions.
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In response to the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the White House issued a proclamation suspending and limiting the entry for certain immigrants and nonimmigrants who were physically present in countries where the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected.
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CLINIC's policy brief for USCIS outlines the issues that religious workers, and in turn the American communities they serve, are facing due to the agency's backlogs and other policies. The brief offers concrete steps that USCIS can take immediately to reduce the harm to essential religious workers.
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This article provides an update on current USCIS processing times for the I-129 Petition, I-360 Petition, I-485 Application, I-765 Application and I-131 Application.
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This article covers requirements for obtaining and maintaining an F-1 visa for international students.
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The Non-Minister Sunset Provision is a temporary law that allows religious brothers, sisters and foreign nationals working in a religious occupation to become permanent residents. This article provides a brief overview of the updates to the Non-Minister Sunset Provision.
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All U.S. Embassies and Consulates outside the United States closed to routine visa interviews in June 2020 due to COVID-19. They have slowly begun to re-open on a post-by-post basis; determined by the conditions of the countries where they are located. At this time, no U.S. Embassies or Consulates are fully operational. Even if they are scheduling appointments and conducting interviews, they are dealing with long backlogs and reduced staff. In order to try to address these backlogs, there have been priorities set.
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The Religious Immigration Services office frequently receives emails and phone calls from third-party contacts who are trying to assist a foreign national with the immigration process. RIS staff are legally limited in their ability to interact with a third-party contact, which is anyone who is not the foreign-born religious worker or a contact for the religious organization.
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On Jan. 20, 2021, President Biden introduced a memo focusing on the preservation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program. The DACA program allows certain undocumented individuals who entered the United States as children to be safe from removal for a period of up to two years if they meet certain eligibility requirements
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The Biden administration announced on Feb. 22 it will be reverting to the 2008 version of the naturalization civics test.
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There have been delays in U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issuing receipt notices for some cases filed in November and December of 2020.
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USCIS recently announced changes made to the civics test for naturalization. This updated version of the test applies to those who have applied for naturalization on or after Dec. 1, 2020.
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Since the Supreme Court issued its final ruling on DACA in June, significant developments have occurred in federal court and in federal agencies. This article summarizes the current status of the program as of Aug. 18, 2020.
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Permanent Residency applicants can be affected by new policies and procedures. This article focuses on how EAD processing delays, EAD card production and the public charge rule affect these applicants.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued its final fee schedule on Aug. 3, 2020. The changes are set to take effect Oct. 2, 2020. This article includes a table of fee changes that will impact religious workers.
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International students with F-1 visas have been impacted by immigration changes during the pandemic. While exemptions to the restrictions have been made, "new," incoming international students are not covered by those exemptions.
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Since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, international travel and the issuance of certain types of visas have been halted in various ways. This article provides information on the Presidential Proclamations affecting visa issuance and travel and the status of visa interviews at U.S. Embassies and Consulates.
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Because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, on March 11, 2020, President Trump issued a new travel proclamation suspending entry of all immigrants and non-immigrants who werephysically present in the following 26 European countries. The countries includeAustria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
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As you are most likely are aware, the coronavirus (COVID-19) is becoming a more immediate health concern in the U.S. As such, the government has already begun limiting visitors to the U.S. (non-U.S. citizens) who may have recently traveled to the following countries: China, S. Korea, Iran, and Italy. Other countries may be added to this list. We are also hearing reports that foreign nationals with previously issued valid visas could also be denied boarding flights to the U.S. if they have recently traveled to the affected countries.
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In recent months, Religious Immigration Services staff have seen an increase in the number of nonimmigrant visas denied to applicants. Nonimmigrant visas are issued to people who have the intent to come to the United States in categories classified for temporary purposes, including visitors, students and religious workers. It is recommended that clients prepare and carefully review all information throughout the visa application process.
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- Social Media: The Department of State has added social media questions to Form DS-160 and Form DS-260. The form now asks for additional phone numbers and email addresses, along with the applicant's social media history for the past five years. If applicants have accounts on the following social media sites — Douban, Facebook, Flicker, Google, Instagram, LinkedIn, My space, Pinterest, Qzone (QQ), Reddit, Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, Tumbler, Twitter, Twoo, Vine, Vkontakte, Youku and/or YouTube — they are to select the social media site and include their account ID/Username.
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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, issued new criteria on May 10 for when a case filed with USCIS may be expedited, narrowing the situations in which this discretionary benefit can be used. Please see the changes to the expedite criteria below.
USCIS may expedite a petition or application if it meets one or more of the following criteria (the criteria was recently revised in the USCIS policy manual):
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Last year, USCIS issued a memo changing the situations in which F, J and M Nonimmigrants began to accrue unlawful presence. This new policy took effect Aug. 9, 2018. The policy was then taken to court. A U.S. federal judge issued a nationwide preliminary injunction on May 3 to temporarily block the implementation of the Aug. 9, 2018 USCIS policy memo "Accrual of Unlawful Presence and F, J, and M Nonimmigrants." This article will provide an update on where the case stands, along with additional updates to fee increases for students and prospective changes to the student category.
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Immigration laws limit the number of immigrant (permanent residence) visas issued during the government's fiscal year, i.e., Oct. 1, 2018 to Sept. 30, 2019. The number of immigrant visas for employment-based, or EB, cases begins at 140,000 per year. The religious worker permanent residence program falls under the EB 4th preference category, which includes ministers (EB 4th) and non-ministers (EB 4th – Certain Religious Workers).
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Under the Trump administration, immigration law and policy transformed. Next year, we expect the same level of changes, and possibly more, that could affect the R-1 Religious Worker Visa Program and permanent residence for religious workers. The following is a list of potential issues that international religious workers should be aware of next year.
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Earlier this spring, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced a significant policy change that will impact foreign nationals studying in the United States in F status (student), J status (exchange visitor), and M status(vocational student).Effective Aug. 9, 2018,an individual with this status, and his/her dependents, will immediately begin to accrue unlawful presence in the following situations:
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, published a new policy guidance on June 28, 2018, regarding the issuance of Form I-862, Notice to Appear. A Notice to Appear, or NTA, is a document issued to a foreign national by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, when the agency has determined that the individual is removable. NTA orders the person to appear before an immigration judge on a given date and to undergo the removal proceedings in court. Until now, USCIS rarely issued NTAs, even after denying immigration benefits.
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Effective Oct. 1, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, will begin implementing"in-person" interviews of I-485 Adjustment of Status (AOS) applicants from employment-based immigration cases.While religious worker AOS cases are employment-based, this new policy will not apply.
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Effective Oct. 18, 2017, the Trump administration will impose new travel restrictions for nationals from the following eight countries:
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What is Form AR-11?
Filing a change of address with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is a simple but important task for foreign nationals who are in the United States.
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An important part of the immigration process of sponsoring international religious workers to the United States involves a site visit from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. This required visit is used to verify elements of the petition filed by the sponsor, including sponsor and beneficiary information, and work location. Site visits may occur with advance notice or without any notice. A successful site visit allows the sponsor to qualify for expedited processing when filing I-129 petitions for a nonimmigrant religious worker, also known as premium processing.
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A new schedule of filing fees from USCIS takes effect Dec. 23, 2016.Applications or petitions mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or after Dec. 23, 2016 must include the new fee. Below is a list of the most common petitions and applications used by religious workers and the current and new fee schedule:
| Form | Current Fee | New Fee – 12/23/2016 |
|---|---|---|
| I-129 Petition Religious Immigration Law USCIS Eliminates "Lawful Status" Requirements in Special Immigrant Religious Worker Program (Permanent Residence Program) Last updated on On July 5, 2015, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) issued a policy memo declaring that the "lawful status" requirements of the immigrant regulations for religious workers would no longer be considered when adjudicating the I-360 immigrant petition. In addition, USCIS will amend Title 8 CFR Sec. Religious Immigration Law Updates on USCIS Site Visits for Religious Workers Last updated on An important part of the immigration process of sponsoring international religious workers to the U.S. involves a site visit from USCIS (U.S. Religious Immigration Law The Impact of Artesia: One Volunteer's Story Last updated on I was recently afforded the opportunity to go out to Artesia, New Mexico to assist the team of immigration attorneys that are providing free legal services to the over 500 detained women and children from Central America. I would be remiss if I were to say that I was not profoundly affected by my experience at the Artesia, New Mexico detention center. Artesia is a small, oil town with about 12,000 residents and is about 8 square miles in the northwestern part of the state, pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Interestingly, Artesia is home to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Religious Immigration Law Connecting with Clients Last updated on During the summer, I had the privilege of visiting one of CLINIC's long-time clients, the Congregation of Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Houston, Texas. The Congregation provides ministries to people with AIDS, the elderly, orphans and others through education, health care, social justice and literacy work within the United States, as well as Guatemala, El Salvador, Ireland, and Kenya. I have prepared a number of R-1 petitions and visa applications for the Congregation's foreign-born Religious Sisters so that they can enter the U.S. Religious Immigration Law
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About the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.Embracing the Gospel value of welcoming the stranger, CLINIC promotes the dignity and protects the rights of immigrants in partnership with a dedicated network of Catholic and community legal immigration programs. We are based out of Silver Spring, Maryland (Washington, D.C. metropolitan area), with an office in Oakland, California, and additional staff working from locations throughout the country. Questions and inquiries can be sent to national@cliniclegal.org. National Office8757 Georgia Avenue, Suite 850, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Stay Up-to-DateSubscribe to Our Email ListsReceive daily immigration news, agency updates, advocacy alerts and information about our latest trainings and resources. It only takes a moment to sign up. Use Your Affiliate BenefitsIf you are a CLINIC affiliate, be sure to regularly use your benefits. The page includes exclusive content and tools that will help you as a legal practitioner. Interested in learning more about affiliation? Read through our frequently asked questions to get started. Additional ItemsStories | Press Releases | Financials | Annual Reports Catholic Identity | Other Ways to Donate Tweets by cliniclegal Connect with Us on Social Media |
Source: https://cliniclegal.org/resources/religious-immigration-law
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