R1 Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC | Feiner& Lavy Law Firm

Religious worker visas in the United States are available for religious workers if certain circumstances apply. If you are considering applying for a religious worker visa, it can be helpful to understand what makes someone eligible for this type of visa and how you can apply for it. A Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC can help you apply for a religious worker visa if you are eligible for one.

What is a Special Immigration Religious Worker Visa?

A special immigration religious worker visa allows for ministers and non-ministers in religious occupations or vocations to immigrate to or to adjust status in the United States for the purpose of performing their religious work. The work here in the U.S. must be in a full-time and compensated position.

To be considered full-time, you must work an average of at least 35 hours per week. To qualify as a compensated position, you must either be paid on an hourly basis or be paid a salary. A Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC can help you determine whether applying for this type of visa is the best option for you.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements to Obtain a Special Immigration Religious Worker Visa?

In order to be considered a special immigration religious worker for this purpose, you must:

• Have been a member of a religious denomination with a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the U.S. for at least a period of two years immediately prior to filing a petition for status with USCIS
• Seek to enter the U.S. in order to work in a full-time and compensated position in one of the following types of occupations

A minister of that religious denomination

A religious occupation, in a professional or non-professional capacity

A religious vocation, in a professional or non-professional capacity

• Be coming to work for a bona fide organization affiliated with a religious denomination in the U.S., or to work for a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the U.S.
• Have been working in one of these positions after the age of 14, either in the United States or abroad, for a continuous period of at least two years immediately prior to filing the petition with USCIS. This prior religious work is not required to correspond exactly to the type of work you will perform. If there is a break in the continuity of the work during the preceding two years, it will not impact your eligibility as long as the following conditions are met:

1. You were still employed during this time as a religious worker
2. The break did not exceed a period of two years; and
3. The nature of the break was for the purpose of a sabbatical or further religious training.

How Do I Apply for A Special Immigration Religious Worker Visa?

A Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC can help you throughout the entire process of applying for a religious worker visa. However, before deciding that a religious worker visa is right for you, it is a good idea to have some understanding of what the application process entails for this visa.

To apply for a religious worker visa, your U.S. employer must file Form I-360, Petition for Amerasian, Widow(er), or Special Immigrant, to request the special immigrant worker classification. You may also be able to file the petition in some cases.

What is the Difference Between a Special Immigration Religious Worker Visa and an R-1 or R-2 Visa?

When you are considering applying for a religious worker visa, you should know the difference between a special immigrant religious worker visa and an R-1 or R-2 visa. An R-1 visa is a temporary non-immigrant religious visa that allows a person to travel to the United States to work as a minister or hold another religious occupation.

The religious institution must either be a registered non-profit organization in the U.S. or authorized to use a group tax exemption. A Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC can help you learn more about which type of religious worker visa is best for you.

R-1 Temporary Non-Immigrant Religious Workers
In order to be eligible for an R-1 visa, the applicant must have worked for at least the immediately preceding two years as a member of that religious denomination. The applicant must also work for at least 20 hours per week for the institution while they are in the United States.

Clergy, religious brothers and sisters, and lay missioners are religious occupations that may receive visas for this purpose. In order to apply for an R-1 religious worker visa, you will need to file Form I-129, Petition for a Non-Immigrant Worker. A Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC can help you file this form and apply for your religious worker visa.

R-2 Non-Immigrant Visa
The R-2 nonimmigrant visa allows the spouse or children of someone who received an R-1 visa to travel to the United States. To be eligible for an R-2 visa, a child must be under the age of 21 and unmarried. People who are staying in the United States on an R-2 visa are not able to work but may attend school.

The status of an R-2 visa is entirely dependent on the status of the R-1 worker. To qualify for an R-2 visa, the R-1 worker will need to demonstrate that they can financially support both themselves and their dependents.

Do I Need to Hire a Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC?

Although you can still apply for a religious worker visa on your own without a lawyer, hiring a Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC can make the process easier for you. A Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC will be able to help you understand your eligibility for any of the available religious worker visas.

Once you have determined what type of visa you are applying for, your Religious Worker Visa Lawyer NYC can help you gather the necessary documentation to send with your petition to give you the best chance at approval. The attorneys at Feiner and Lavy, P.C. have many years of experience successfully handling immigration-related matters for their clients. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation to learn more about religious worker visas.