26 / 84
Civil Law Considerations—Immigration Law | C-3
and theology and generally three years of
theology beyond college before they qualify
for the diaconate. Ordinarily, six months to
one year elapses between ordination to the
diaconate and ordination to the priesthood.
Bringing over a seminarian on a student visa,
rather than an R visa, is the recommended
step. Once a seminarian completes seminary
studies and is ordained to the priesthood,
change of status to R-1 status is the appro-
priate next step. During the summer months
in the course of their seminary program, sem-
inarians are usually assigned to parishes for
pastoral experience. One summer may be
dedicated to clinical pastoral education, for
example, in a hospital setting. A fair assump-
tion may be made that all seminarians are in
education and formation for the priesthood
by virtue of a religious vocation.
C. Application Procedures for Religious Workers
1. Special Immigrant Visas
The special immigrant visa entails a for-
mal application process whereby a religious
organization exempt from federal taxation
petitions CIS for admission to the United
States on behalf of a religious worker. The
petitioner, using CIS Form I-360, submits the
application along with the appropriate fee to
the CIS California Service Center. CIS adju-
dicators sometimes request additional evi-
dence, also known as a Request For Evidence
(RFE), from the petitioning entity. If the
RFE is not properly answered within the time
period allowed by CIS, the petition will be
denied. Extensive documentary requirements
are part of the application process.
Once Form I-360 is approved, the next
step in applying for permanent residency is
through adjustment of status or consular pro-
cessing. Adjustment of status allows a reli-
gious worker who is physically present in the
United States, who has been in a lawful non-
immigrant status, and who has not worked
without authorization to attain status as a law-
ful permanent resident, provided that a visa
is immediately available. There is a limited
exception, which may be applicable to the
religious worker who has been out of status
as a nonimmigrant for less than six months.
An immigration attorney can advise whether
this is applicable. For adjustment of status,
Form I-485, the Application for Adjustment
of Status, with supporting documentation
and the results of a medical examination is
filed at the appropriate CIS Service Center.
It is also important to request employment
authorization to allow the person to work,
pending adjudication, and to request advance
parole to allow the applicant for adjustment
of status to travel, pending adjudication. If
the applicant resides abroad, CIS will forward
the approved Form I-360 to the appropriate
US consulate, where the religious worker can
undergo consular processing.
2. Nonimmigrant R Visas
The process of obtaining an R visa begins
when the application is made to immigration
authorities in the United States. Applications
must utilize CIS Form I-129, Petition for a
Nonimmigrant Worker, along with the reli-
gious worker supplement. The religious worker
must show that he or she is qualified based on
the criteria described above in section B.1.b,
“Religious Workers Covered,” (minister, a
person in a religious occupation, or a person
who has a religious vocation) and that he or
she will provide services to a bona fide reli-
gious organization, exempt from federal taxa-
tion, for at least twenty hours per week.
Sponsorship for religious workers varies
with a given diocese or eparchy, with religious
congregations, and with bona fide non-profit
organizations affiliated with the Catholic
Church. The R nonimmigrant approval
notice clearly states that the beneficiary reli-
gious worker is being admitted at the request
of the petitioner, to work for the petitioner,
but only as detailed in the petition and for
the period authorized. The petition will be
easier to approve with the petitioner as the
employer who issues the W-2 and the ben-
eficiary as the employee receiving the W-2.
Other arrangements may be approved such as
the diocese or eparchy as the petitioner that
assigns the beneficiary to a particular parish
that issues the W-2. The petition must clearly
explain the arrangement and comply with
applicable regulations. Extensive documen-
tation is also required to support the applica-
tion for the R nonimmigrant visa.