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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. |
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 the partner church or ministry or 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.
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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 The offer letter from Reliant will be included with the R-1 Visa petition. Salary Guidelines Ideally, the goal is for the R-1 Visa applicant to be fully funded with MTD funds, before obtaining their R-1 Visa. To help ensure approval, the applicant's salary should be an annual income that is 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 fund or to the MTD account for which the applicant is responsible. Initial Attorney Consultation: $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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The applicant will need to provide the following details 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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R-1 Visa holders must wait until 6 months before their R-Visa's expiration date to begin the R-1 renewal process. At that time, if the R-1 Visa holder worked full-time with consistent paid employment, Reliant may also pursue the I-360 religious worker green card sponsorship petition. |
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The R-1 Visa applicant's spouse and unmarried children under age 21 may apply for R-2 visas to accompany or join them to reside temporarily. The R-1 Visa applicant must demonstrate that they will be able to financially support their family in the United States. The R-1 Visa applicant's family is permitted to study while in the United States but is not authorized to accept employment. |
General Timeline
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