Religious Worker Visa Improvement Act

To streamline the R–1 religious worker visa petition process. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Religious Worker Visa Improvement Act 2. R–1 religious worker visa petitions Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1184 (s) Visas of nonimmigrants described in section 101(a)(15)(R) (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), a consular officer may not issue a visa and the Secretary of Homeland Security may not grant status to any alien under section 101(a)(15)(R) until the Secretary has approved a petition filed on behalf of such alien. (2) Blanket petition authorized Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a petitioner who has satisfied the requirements under paragraph (3) may file a blanket petition, in lieu of individual petitions, on behalf of aliens who meet the eligibility requirements under paragraph (4). (3) Petitioner requirements A petitioner satisfies the requirements under this paragraph if— (A) the petitioner has an established program for temporary, uncompensated missionary work in the United States that is part of a broader international missionary work program; (B) participation in the missionary work described in subparagraph (A) is an established element of religious development in the petitioner’s religious denomination; (C) the petitioner provides formal training to its missionaries that is incidental to their missionary service; (D) the petitioner has established a financial support system that reasonably ensures that its missionaries will not become public charges during their missionary service; and (E) at least 1,000 individual petitions for nonimmigrant religious workers previously filed by the petitioner under section 101(a)(15)(R) have been approved by the Secretary of Homeland Security. (4) Eligibility for inclusion in blanket petition An alien meets the requirements under this paragraph if the alien— (A) is described in section 101(a)(15)(R); (B) has been accepted into a missionary program described in paragraph (3)(A); and (C) will perform missionary work at a location listed in the blanket-petition approval notice. (5) Limitation (A) In general The Secretary of Homeland Security may only include, in its approval of a blanket petition, locations of missionary service for which the Secretary has previously conducted a site inspection in connection with an individual petition for a religious worker. (B) Defined term In this paragraph, the term location of missionary service (6) List of authorized locations of missionary service (A) Notice When the Secretary of Homeland Security approves a blanket petition filed under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall issue a notice to the petitioner containing a list of the locations of missionary service authorized under the blanket petition. Such approval shall remain valid unless revoked by the Secretary of Homeland Security for good cause shown. (B) Amendment A petitioner under this subsection may file a petition at any time seeking to amend the list of locations of missionary service that were previously authorized. .

Summary: Religious Worker Visa Improvement Act This bill amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit a consular officer from issuing a nonimmigrant R-visa (for a religious worker and accompanying or joining spouse or child), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from granting such status, to an alien until DHS has approved a petition filed on the alien's behalf. An eligible petitioner may file a blanket petition, in lieu of individual petitions, on behalf of aliens meeting specified requirements for blanket petition inclusion. DHS may only include in approval of a blanket petition missionary service locations for which DHS has previously conducted a site inspection in connection with an individual petition for a religious worker. A petitioner may file a petition at any time to amend the list of previously authorized missionary service locations.