Title: Religious Worker Visa Improvement Act
Policy area: Immigration

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.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 775 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 775

     To streamline the R-1 religious worker visa petition process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 30, 2017

   Mr. Hatch introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To streamline the R-1 religious worker visa petition process.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Religious Worker Visa Improvement 
Act''.

SEC. 2. R-1 RELIGIOUS WORKER VISA PETITIONS.

    Section 214 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(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' means a specific 
                worksite or a geographic area with specific boundaries. 
                If the location of missionary service is a geographical 
                area with specific boundaries, the location shall 
                include a head office or facility that can be 
                reasonably subject to a site inspection.
            ``(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.''.
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