AILA Religious Workers Committee Update on Visa Availability

AILA Religious Workers Committee Update on Visa Availability

AILA reminds members of the sunset of the EB-4 non-minister permanent resident religious worker category on September 30, 2009. This category includes petitions for those applying in the religious occupation, vocation and professional categories, but not to those applying in the ministerial category. Nonimmigrant R-1 petitions are unaffected by the sunset in both the ministerial and non-ministerial categories.

Without any extension by Congress of the non-ministerial category, both the I-360 religious worker petition and the I-485 adjustment of status application must be approved by September 30, 2009. For those applying for consular processing, the immigrant visa must be issued prior to September 30, 2009, and the applicant must be admitted to the U.S. by midnight on this date.

Furthermore, the Department of State has informed AILA that all employment-based immigrant visas for the fiscal year 2009 have been allocated. (AILA Doc. No. 09092466). Therefore, unless a visa number has already been reserved, no I-485 applications will be approved or immigrant visas issued through consular processing pursuant to any religious worker petition until October 1, 2009. Similarly, no such applications will be accepted for filing. For the ministerial category, immigrant visas become available again on October 1, 2009, when filings and adjudications can resume. For the non-ministerial category, filings and adjudications can resume if and when an extension is passed by Congress and the State Department resumes visa issuance pursuant to the extension.

The table below outlines the implications for filing I-360 religious worker petitions and I-485/consular processing applications:

I-360

I-485/Consular Processing

Prior to 09/30/2009

May file in any religious worker category, including non-ministerial categories*

May not file pursuant to any religious worker category

Post 09/30/2009

May file in the ministerial category, but not in the non-ministerial category (unless extension of this program)

May file pursuant to ministerial category (either subsequent to I-360 approval or concurrently with I-360 filing), but not in the non-ministerial category (unless extension of this program)

* It is expected that pending I-360 petitions in the non-ministerial category on September 30, 2009, will be held in abeyance by USCIS in case of extension of this program. The same applies to I-485 and consular processing applications currently filed and pending on September 30, 2009 in this category.