Immigration of Religious Workers: Background and Legislation
Released: 2003-09-30T00:00:00

RS21630 -- Immigration of Religious Workers: Background and Legislation

September 30, 2003

Introduction

Permanent legal immigration to the United States is regulated by a set of numerical limits and systems of preference categories delineated in the Immigrationand Nationality Act (INA), and employment-based immigration comprises one of the major groups of the preferencecategory systems. (1) Aliens who come tothe United States through the permanent legal immigration categories are commonly known as legal permanentresidents (LPRs). The fourth category of theemployment-based preference system is known as "special immigrants," and the largest number of specialimmigrants are ministers of religion and religiousworkers. (2) Religious workers are treated separatelyfrom ministers of religion and are limited to 5,000 immigrants annually. Accompanying spouses and minorchildren of ministers of religion and religious workers are included as special immigrants.

Prior to the Immigration Act of 1990 ( P.L. 101-649 ), ministers of religion were admitted to the United States without numerical limits, and there was noseparate provision for religious workers. Religious workers immigrated through one of the more general categoriesof numerically-limited, employment-basedimmigration that were in effect at that time. The Immigration Act of 1990 amended the INA to redefine the specialimmigrant category to include ministers ofreligion and religious workers, but contained a "sunset"of the provision for religious workers on September 30,1994. It was subsequently extended severaltimes, most recently through September 30, 2003. (3) The 1990 Act also created a new nonimmigrant (i.e., temporary) visa for religious workers, commonlyreferred to as the R visa. (4)

Religious Worker Definitions

Defining what constitutes religious work is daunting given the theological diversity of religions, denominations, and faith traditions. The education, training,and ordination requirements for ministers of religion and religious workers vary greatly by religious group. Underthe special immigrant provisions, the INAdefines ministers of religion and religious workers as follows:

(C) an immigrant, and the immigrant's spouse and children if accompanying or following to join the immigrant,who --

(i) for at least 2 years immediately preceding the time of application foradmission, has been a member of areligious denomination having a bona fide nonprofit, religious organization in the UnitedStates;

(ii) seeks to enter the United States --

(I) solely for the purpose of carrying on the vocation of a minister of thatreligiousdenomination,

(II) before October 1, 2003, in order to work for the organization at the requestof the organization in aprofessional capacity in a religious vocation or occupation, or

(III) before October 1, 2003, in order to work for the organization (or a bona fide organization which is affiliatedwith the religious denomination and is exempt from taxation as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) ofthe Internal Revenue Code of 1986) at therequest of the organization in a religious vocation or occupation; and

(iii) has been carrying on such a vocation, professional work, or other workcontinuously for at least the 2-yearperiod described in clause (i); (5)

The regulations further define religious occupation as "an activity which relates to a traditional religious function." (6) The nonimmigrant R visa category ofreligious workers holds to the same definitions; aliens on R visas are not, however, held to the 2-year experiencerequirement. Religious workers are notsubject to the labor certification requirements that many other employment-based immigrants must meet. (7)

The INA is silent on what constitutes a religious denomination, but the regulations offer the following definition:

Religious denomination means a religious group or community of believers having some form of ecclesiasticalgovernment, a creed or statement of faith, some form of worship, a formal or informal code of doctrine anddiscipline, religious services and ceremonies,established places of religious worship, religious congregations, or comparable indica of a bona fide religious denomination. For the purposes of this definition,an interdenominational religious organization which is exempt from taxation pursuant to �501(c)(3) of the InternalRevenue Code will be treated as a religiousdenomination. (8)

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Bureau in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the lead agency for immigrant admissions. (9)

Trends in Admissions

In the wider sweep of legal immigration to the United States, religious workers represent a tiny fraction of the annual flow -- 0.3% of the 1,063,732 immigrantsin FY2002. While the number of nonimmigrant R visas issued since FY1992 (first year the category was available)exceeds that of the permanent admissions,it likewise constitutes a small portion of all nonimmigrants admitted. The issuances of R visas has moved steadilyupward, but the levels of admission forpermanent religious workers has varied since FY1992 ( Figure 1 ).

Most religious workers who become LPRs are not arriving from abroad; rather they are adjusting status after they have lived in the United States. In FY2002,only 389 of the 3,127 religious workers and their families arrived from abroad, while 87.6% adjusted to LPR statusas religious workers in the United States. Itis likely that most of those who adjusted status had entered on R visas as temporary religious workers.

PDF version

Legislation

Bills ( H.R. 2152 / S. 1580 ) to extend the religious worker provision through September 30, 2008, have been introduced in bothchambers. Congressman Barney Frank introduced H.R. 2152 on May 19, 2003. The House JudiciaryCommittee ordered H.R. 2152 reported onSeptember 10, 2003, and the House passed H.R. 2152 on September 17, 2003. Senate Committee on theJudiciary Chairman Orrin Hatch introduceda bill similar to H.R. 2152, the Religious Worker Act of 2003 (S. 1580), on September 3, 2003.

Although the extension of the religious worker provision has a broad base of support, efforts to make it a permanent immigration category have not succeeded. Some have criticized the religious worker provision as vulnerable to fraud. A few have expressed fear that it maybe an avenue for religious extremists to enterthe United States. Others, however, point out that the INA has provisions to guard against visa fraud and to excludefrom admission aliens who may threatenpublic safety or national security, and who commit fraud to enter the United States. (10)

Footnotes

1. (back) The largest preference grouping isfamily-based immigration. Other groupings include diversity and humanitarian admissions. For more information,see CRS Report RS20916(pdf) , Immigration and Naturalization Fundamentals , by [author name scrubbed].

2. (back) Other "special immigrants" include certainemployees of the U.S. government abroad, Panama Canal employees, retired employees of internationalorganizations, certain aliens who served in the U.S. armed forces, and certain aliens declared a ward of a juvenilecourt. INA �101(a)(27).

3. (back) Immigration and Nationality TechnicalCorrections Act of 1994 ( P.L. 103-416 ), the Religious Workers Act of 1997 ( P.L. 105-54 ), and the ReligiousWorkersAct of 2000 ( P.L. 106-409 ).

4. (back) Religious workers on the nonimmigrantR visas may be admitted for up to 5 years.

5. (back) INA �101(a)(27)(C); 8 U.S.C.1101(a)(27)(C).

6. (back) The regulations elaborate: "(E)xamplesinclude but are not limited to liturgical workers, religious instructors, religious counselors, cantors, catechists,workers in religious hospitals or religious health care facilities, missionaries, religious translators, or religiousbroadcasters. The group does not includejanitors, maintenance workers, clerks, fund raisers, or persons solely involved in the solicitation of donations." 8C.F.R. �204.5(m)(2).

7. (back) Labor certification provisions are aimedat ensuring that foreign workers do not displace or adversely affect working conditions of U.S. workers. For a fulldiscussion, see: CRS Report RS21520(pdf) , Labor Certification for Permanent Immigrant Admissions , by[author name scrubbed].

8. (back) 8 C.F.R. �204.5(m)(2). For a discussionof the tax exempt status, see: CRS Report RL31545, Congressional Protection of Religious Liberty ,by [author name scrubbed],p. 47-48.

9. (back) Other agencies with primary responsibilityfor immigration functions are the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Immigration andCustoms Enforcement, both in DHS, and the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the Department of State.

10. (back) For a full discussion of the groundsof inadmissibility, see CRS Report RL31215, Visa Issuances: Policy, Issues, and Legislation , by RuthEllen Wasem.