Ministers and non-ministers in religious vocations and occupations may come to the U.S. temporarily to perform religious work. Below are the requirements and process for an R-1 Visa petition.
If you would like to discuss with Reliant the possibility of pursuing an R-1 visa for a potential employee, please contact the appropriate Program Team Lead.
General Eligibility
To be eligible to submit an R-1 Visa petition, the individual will need to be a nonimmigrant/noncitizen foreign national who is coming to the United States temporarily to work at least part-time (an average of at least 20 hours per week) as a minister or in a religious vocation for a church or ministry. The individual must have been affiliated with either the partner church or ministry that is in partnership with Reliant or must have been affiliated with Reliant in some capacity for at least two years before filing the R-1 Visa petition.
Read more about the R-1 Visa process on the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Website or Travel.State.Gov Website.
General Timeline
Initial Attorney Consultation
Typically 1 week from the day of request, depending on the availability of the attendees
attendees: immigration attorney, Reliant HR, partner church/ministry representative, Program Team representative (optional), R-1 Visa applicant (optional)
Gathering & Providing Required Documents to Reliant
Typically 1-2 months
File for R-1 Religious Worker Visa Sponsorship Petition
General turnaround time is an estimated 2.5 to 3 months
Expedited premium processing (extra fee) turnaround time is typically 10 to 15 business days
R-1 Visa's are valid for 30 months before renewal, or extension is required
After 30 months, subsequent extensions for up to an additional 30 months can be requested. The total period of stay in the United States under the R-1 classification cannot exceed five years (60 months)
R-1 Visa Extensions
An extension request should be made 1.5 months before the expiration date of the visa.
The extension process typically takes 2 months.
R-1 Visa Renewals
The renewal process can begin as early as 6 months before the expiration date of the visa.
The renewal process typically takes between 2 - 4 months.
8 Comments
Julie Thomas
Kristina Lilly - I made some edits. The costs I got from an email Sonya had sent us few months ago. It might be worth reaching out to her to verify that those are correct.
Kristina Lilly
Julie Thomas The Petition Costs section has been updated with Sonya's edits.
Kristina Lilly
Dave Meldrum-Green Hey Dave! Would you mind taking a look at this page for clarity and inaccuracies?
Julie Thomas
Kristina Lilly , I reviewed again and made some more edits. Can we add a timeline section and list the steps and a very general timeline?
Kristina Lilly
Julie Thomas I added a general timeline. If I missed any steps or need to add additional info, please let me know. Thanks!
Julie Thomas
Kristina Lilly , if you got the other questions answered, we can move this to the Field Manual under the Supervisors section.
Julie Thomas
Actually, we may need one more introductory section telling the reader if they would like to discuss with Reliant the possibility of pursuing an R-1 visa for a potential employee, to reach out to their Program Team Lead (link to Central Staff Contact Page).
Kristina Lilly
Julie Thomas moved!