DHS rule change aims to shorten wait times for religious worker visas

What DHS announced

The Department of Homeland Security announced a regulatory change aimed at reducing visa wait times abroad for religious workers who serve U.S. congregations. The change is also designed to reduce disruption for congregations that rely on clergy such as pastors, priests, nuns, imams and rabbis, who typically come into the country on temporary visas called R-1.

DHS said the fix targets one issue involving clergy that had been requested by advocates: removing the requirement that R-1 religious workers leave the United States for one year after reaching their five-year visa maximum. Under the new approach described by DHS, religious workers would still need to depart, but they would be able to apply to re-enter right away.

DHS said the goal is to ensure religious organizations can continue delivering the services Americans depend on. In its statement, the department said, “We are taking the necessary steps to ensure religious organizations can continue delivering the services that Americans depend on,” and added that “Pastors, priests, nuns, and rabbis are essential to the social and moral fabric of this country.”

Reaction from immigration attorneys and faith groups

Immigration attorneys and faith leaders welcomed the regulatory change. Lance Conklin, a Maryland immigration attorney who represents evangelical churches with R-1 visa holders, called it “a huge deal,” adding that it could prevent organizations from being disrupted when someone would otherwise have to leave for a year because “that’s a major imposition now.”

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops called the step a “truly significant step to support essential religious services in the United States.” In a joint statement, Archbishop Paul Coakley, the USCCB president, and Bishop Brendan Cahill, chair of the USCCB committee on migration, said, “The value of the Religious Worker Visa Program and our appreciation for the efforts undertaken to support it cannot be overstated.”

Olga Rojas, immigration counsel for the Archdiocese of Chicago, reacted enthusiastically, saying “Hallelujah!” and later that she was “happy the administration made this change.” She said it would be “helpful to us so we don’t have to lose valued religious workers that are contributing so much to our parishes and schools.”

Why the rule matters for permanent residency backlogs

The DHS change was announced amid tightening immigration restrictions, but DHS framed the action as a way to support religious organizations and minimize disruption to faith-based communities.

The article said the change is relevant because many religious workers who enter on R-1 visas seek legal permanent residency through a special category for clergy. It said the five-year R-1 visa used to provide enough time for congregations to petition for green cards under an EB-4 category, which would allow clergy to become permanent residents.

It also described how green cards are governed by quotas set by Congress that are divided into categories, with most categories seeing demand exceed the annual limit. The article said citizens of countries with especially high demand face separate, often longer lines for processing. It also said that, in a separate line, were migrant children who had Special Immigrant Juvenile Status.

The 2023 change that extended wait times

The article said a change in March 2023 under President Joe Biden’s State Department began adding minors with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status to the general green-card queue with clergy. It said that shift created new backlogs that threatened religious workers’ ability to remain in the United States.

The article said there are no exact numbers, but it is estimated that thousands of religious workers are backlogged in the green-card system or have not been able to apply yet.

Court challenge and withdrawal

The article described a lawsuit brought by the Catholic Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, and five affected priests. It said the lawsuit argued that the 2023 change “will cause severe and substantial disruption to the lives and religious freedoms” of the priests and the faithful they serve.

It said the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed in fall 2025. Court documents, according to the article, said the dismissal was intended “to allow for Agency action and/or rulemaking that will render moot the relief Plaintiffs sought from the Court.”

Raymond Lahoud, the diocese’s attorney in the lawsuit, said Wednesday that the legal matter was resolved in a way that would keep priests in the United States. He said, “We’re getting the resolution we wanted, which is ultimately keeping the priests in the United States,” while also saying “the underlying issue is they still have to wait a decade for a green card,” and that uncertainty continues “until Congress will work together on comprehensive immigration reform.”

A continuing wait for green cards

Even with the DHS regulatory change, the article said the broader process for permanent residency remains constrained by the green-card system Congress oversees. It also reported that in spring 2025 a bipartisan bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House that called for a small fix similar to DHS’s action—allowing religious workers’ visas to be extended while a green-card application is pending.