New Rules Provide Relief for R-1 Religious Workers Reaching the Five-Year Limit

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made an important change for religious workers in R-1 nonimmigrant status who reach the five-year maximum period they are permitted to remain in the United States.

Under the new rule, an R-1 religious worker must still leave the United States after reaching the five-year limit. However, the worker is no longer required to remain outside the United States for one year before returning in R-1 status.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued updated guidance on June 26, 2026, explaining how the new rule will work for R-1 religious workers and the religious organizations that employ them.

Why Was This Rule Changed?

R-1 status allows qualifying ministers and other religious workers to work temporarily for nonprofit religious organizations in the United States. R-1 workers generally may be admitted for an initial period of up to 30 months and receive an additional period of up to 30 months, for a maximum of five years in the United States.

Many religious organizations also sponsor their R-1 workers for permanent residence through the EB-4 special immigrant religious worker category.

In recent years, however, a substantial backlog has developed in the EB-4 immigrant visa category. As a result, many religious workers with approved immigrant petitions are unable to file applications for permanent residence before reaching their five-year R-1 limit.

Until January 2026, this created a particularly difficult situation. An R-1 worker who reached the five-year maximum generally had to leave the United States and remain abroad for an entire year before becoming eligible to return in R-1 status. This often required religious organizations to operate without ministers and other religious workers who had served their communities for years while those workers continued waiting for immigrant visas to become available.

DHS changed the regulation specifically in response to these concerns, recognizing the disruption the one-year absence created for religious organizations and their communities.

What Has Changed?

Effective January 16, 2026, DHS eliminated the one-year foreign residence requirement for R-1 religious workers who reach the five-year maximum.

The five-year limit itself has not changed. An R-1 worker who has used the full five years of R-1 time must still physically depart the United States.

The important difference is what happens next. There is now no minimum amount of time the worker must remain outside the United States before seeking to return in R-1 status.

Once the worker has a new approved R-1 petition and, if required, obtains a new R-1 visa from a U.S. consulate, the worker may seek readmission to the United States in R-1 status. Upon readmission under the new petition, the worker begins a new period of eligibility for R-1 status.

Religious Organizations Can Plan Ahead

The new rule also creates an important planning opportunity for religious organizations.

An organization does not need to wait until its R-1 worker reaches the five-year limit and departs the United States before filing the new R-1 petition. The organization may file the new Form I-129 before the worker reaches the five-year maximum.

If the petition is approved in advance, the worker can depart the United States upon reaching the five-year limit, apply for an R-1 visa abroad if one is required, and then seek readmission in R-1 status without waiting one year outside the country.

This could significantly reduce the interruption in employment, although the actual amount of time the worker spends abroad will depend on factors such as USCIS processing times, visa requirements, consular appointment availability, and admission to the United States.

What About Religious Workers Waiting for Green Cards?

This change is particularly important for R-1 workers who have already begun the permanent residence process.

An approved Form I-360 immigrant petition does not, by itself, give a religious worker lawful immigration status or permission to remain in the United States beyond the R-1 five-year maximum. A worker generally cannot file Form I-485 to adjust status until an immigrant visa is available based on the worker’s priority date.

Because of the significant EB-4 backlog, many religious workers may reach the end of their R-1 stay before they are eligible to file for adjustment of status.

The new rule does not shorten the EB-4 waiting line or make additional immigrant visas available. Instead, it provides an important way for eligible religious workers to return to the United States in R-1 status and continue their religious work while waiting for their priority dates to become current.

What Should R-1 Workers and Religious Organizations Do?

Religious organizations with R-1 employees approaching the five-year limit should plan well in advance. The timing of the new R-1 petition, the worker’s required departure, any necessary visa application, and the worker’s return to the United States should be coordinated carefully to minimize interruptions in employment.

It is also important to calculate the five-year period correctly. In some circumstances, time an R-1 worker spent outside the United States during the existing R-1 period may be recaptured and may not count toward the five-year maximum.

For religious workers pursuing permanent residence, the R-1 strategy should also be coordinated with the worker’s pending or approved Form I-360 petition and the availability of an EB-4 immigrant visa.

This regulatory change provides significant relief to religious organizations and their employees, particularly those facing long waits for permanent residence. While it does not eliminate the five-year R-1 limit or the EB-4 backlog, it can dramatically reduce the amount of time a religious worker must spend outside the United States before returning to continue their work.

If you are an R-1 religious worker approaching the five-year limit, or a religious organization employing an R-1 worker, Delgado Rompf Bruen LLC can help you evaluate the timing of a new petition, departure and readmission, and any related permanent residence strategy. Please contact our office to schedule a consultation.