Religious worker R-1 site visits could be effective for as long as six years

A non-US person who seeks to work in the United States as a minister, or in a religious occupation or vocation, might qualify for R-1 religious worker status. Like H-1B, this status is a temporary, nonimmigrant one. However, unlike H-1B, the filing fees are less and the employer has far less paperwork to contend with. Most importantly, R-1 status has no cap and therefore people who seek it need not worry about a lottery, nor about any fixed filing or start-of-work dates.

One potential issue with R-1 petitions, however, is the site visit. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requires that a valid site visit to the would-be employer occur before an R-1 petition can be reviewed for decision. Such a visit is intended to ensure that the organization is a legitimate one. Even if the petition is filed with premium processing, by which USCIS could render a decision within 15 calendar days, such 15-day clock starts only after a valid site visit.

Fortunately, a given site visit need not apply to only a single petition. That is, a site visit might be good even for petitions filed several years later.

I recently discovered that, assuming correct information from the client and lack of USCIS error, that site visit could be effective for as long as six years.

On January 13, 2015, I filed a premium processing R-1 petition, and it was approved by the end of the month—that is, within the 15-day period.

According to the person’s boss at that organization, the last time they had an R-1 site visit was for a worker who was approved in November 2008. Therefore, assuming the boss is correct, this latest R-1 approval did not require its own site visit, but rather was based on the 2008 visit. Assuming also no error by USCIS, a site visit therefore apparently can be effective for as long as six years.
Will such a six year effective period necessarily apply to everyone else? Of course not. As the car advertisements say, “Your mileage may vary.” However, in at least one case, an organization benefitted from a six year old site visit.

[The above information does not constitute legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship]

 

Calvin Sun, Attorney at Law
610-296-3947, cell 215-983-3723

csun@calvinsun.com

We Chat: calvin_t_sun