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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
An To be eligible to submit an R-1 nonimmigrant is a noncitizen 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 or occupation and be employed by one of the following:
- A non-profit religious organization in the United States
- A religious organization that a group tax exemption holder authorized to use its group tax exemption
- A non-profit organization that is affiliated with a religious denomination in the United States
To qualify, you must have been a member of a religious denomination having a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the United States 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 immediately before filing the R-1 Visa petition.
You can read Read more about the R-1 Visa process on the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Website or Travel.State.Gov Website.
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Hiring Date A hire date should be determined (keeping MTD in mind) before submitting the R-1 Visa petition. Religious Occupation & Job Description The occupation and Reliant job description from the partner ministry should average at least 20 hours per week and include all religious duties that will be performed. Offer Letter An The offer letter from Reliant should will be included with the R-1 Visa petition. Salary GuidelinesThe Ideally, the goal is for the R-1 Visa applicant will need to be fully funded with MTD funds before obtaining their R-1 Visa. The minimum wage should meet To help ensure approval, the applicant's salary should be an annual income of at least 125% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines. Reliant also desires that the applicant's salary meet the prevailing wage guideline in the location where the R-1 Visa applicant will be living and working. R-1 workers must receive a full salary and cannot be short-checked. |
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The R-1 Visa legal and application costs can be charged to the church or ministry partner project fund at Reliant or to the MTD account for which the applicant is responsible. If charged to the MTD account, the individual is responsible for raising funds for Reliant to cover these costs. Initial Attorney Consultation Fee: $175 Step 1: Employer's R-1 religious worker visa sponsorship petition filing
OPTIONAL -- Any family's R-2 change of status filing in the U.S:
Step 2: Religious worker's visa processing with the US Embassy abroad --- for entry to the USA and international travel
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Please provide your Program Team with The applicant will need to provide the following details to begin the R-1 Visa Petition process:
Please provide your Program Team with the following documents to begin the R-1 Visa Petition process:
Other documents needed (if applicable)
The Partner Ministry and Reliant will collect the following information:
Documents needed from the Partner Ministry
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*All foreign documents must be translated into English, and the documents in the original language need to be provided, with certified English translation. A notarized translation is not needed; anyone fluent in both languages may translate and provide this certificate of translation. See Sample certificate of translation.docx.
R-1 Visa Consultation Fee with Attorney: $175 R-1 Visa Non-Refundable Application Fee: $530 Expedited Premium Processing Fee: $1,685 + an extra $200 attorney fee (processes on average 15 business days instead of the estimated 2.5 months) |
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R-1 Visa holders must wait until 6 months before their R-Visa's expiration date to renew their R-1 visa status. They may begin the R-1 renewal process as early as 7 months before their current R-1 expiration. At that time, if the R-1 Visa holder worked full-time with consistent paid employment for two continuous years, Reliant may also pursue the I-360 religious worker green card sponsorship petition. |
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Your The R-1 Visa applicant's spouse and unmarried children under age 21 may apply for R-2 visas to accompany or join you them to reside temporarily. You The R-1 Visa applicant must demonstrate that you will be able to they can financially support your their family in the United States. They are The R-1 Visa applicant's family is permitted to study while in the United States but are is not authorized to accept employment. |
General Timeline
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