Religious Workers

Religious Worker's Visa Lawyers

Priests, ministers, rabbis, lay workers, choir directors, and other religious workers can apply for an R visa to come to the U.S. to work temporarily or an SD permanent resident visa.

If you are a religious worker from any denomination, the experienced immigration attorneys at Byrd & Associates, can help you file a petition for a temporary work visa or immigrant visa in the religious worker category. To learn more, please contact our law firm today for a free initial consultation and case evaluation.

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Religious Worker's Visa Attorneys

The rules and requirements for obtaining a religious worker's visa, also called a minister's visa, will be changing soon. Authorities are concerned about the potential for fraud.

As members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), we receive daily updates on immigration law. Because we are aware of and prepared for pending changes to immigration rules, our clients will not be caught off guard when a change occurs. You can rely on our immigration lawyers for up-to-the minute legal advice.

The Right Visa for You

We will make certain that the religious worker's visa is, in fact, the most appropriate work visa for your purposes. According to the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs, the religious worker's visa is reserved for those who are "authorized by a recognized denomination to conduct religious worship and perform other duties usually performed by members of the clergy such as administering the sacraments, or their equivalent." The term does not apply to lay preachers.

Nuns, monks, and religious brothers and sisters who have taken a vow and dedicated themselves to a religious life are eligible for a religious worker's visa because religion is central to their work.

Not everyone who is employed by a denomination can obtain a visa for religious workers. Liturgical workers, religious instructors or cantors, catechists, workers in religious hospitals, missionaries, religious translators, or religious broadcasters qualify because their work is related to the tenets of their faith. Janitors, maintenance workers, clerks, fund raisers, solicitors of donations, or those in occupations tangential to the religion do not qualify.

If you have questions about a work visa based on religion, please do not hesitate to contact us today.

From our office in Los Angeles, our immigration attorneys represent individuals and businesses in San Francisco, throughout California, across the country, and around the world.