The R-1 visa is available for religious workers who are seeking temporary admission to the United States to work in their religious position. R-1 visas are limited to: ministers; people working in a professional capacity in a religious occupation or vocation; or people working for a religious organization or an affiliate in a religious occupation who has been a member of the religious group for at least two years preceding the application. Those in R-1 status can remain in the US for a maximum of five years, at which point they must remain outside of the US for at least one year before applying for R-1 status once more.
Learn more about the R-1 visa here.
If the position for which you are seeking an R-1 visa is not a ministerial position, the R-1 petition becomes a little more complicated. In these positions, the petitioner will have to prove that the proffered position is one of a religious vocation or occupation. Delgado Rompf Bruen has represented a variety of positions in the R-1 visa category and has the expertise to guide our clients on the documents to present to prove to USCIS that the position calls for an R-1 visa.
The R-1 visa requires that beneficiaries receive either salaried or non-salaried compensation from the religious organization for which they will work. If the position is salaried, the religious organization must prove they can pay the beneficiary the proffered wage. If the position is non-salaried, the petitioner must show how they intend to compensate the beneficiary through means other than salary. In either case, Delgado Rompf Bruen is available to assist petitioners with compiling the correct documentation to prove that their beneficiary will be appropriately compensated.
The most important information to include in an R-1 petition is a description of the job duties that will be performed by the beneficiary, including a proposed daily and weekly schedule. This is the information that USCIS will rely on in determining whether the beneficiary qualifies for an R-1 visa. Additional important information includes proof of the petitioning organization’s bona fide religious organization label and proof of the beneficiary’s membership in the religious organization.
Our R-1 questionnaire with all the information required to complete an R-1 petition can be found here.
If you would like to pursue an R-1 visa, you can learn more about scheduling a consultation here. We are also available to assist with extensions of or changes of status to R-1 visas.
I went through my Green Card and Citizenship applications with Elizabeth Rompf and every step of the way was fantastic. Incredibly professional, prompt, clear, and very attentive to details. I cannot recommend them enough! They're my absolute top pick for any immigration recommendations!
DRB helped us with securing a work visa for one of our staff members, communicated well, and helped explain the process.
I am full of gratitude while writing this review for Delgado Rompf Bruen Law. Thank you so much Marta for handling my case so beautifully. It has been only your diligence and professionalism in the work which guided my case to success. I am very fortunate to have you as an attorney. With other attorneys I've experienced ones who only took my money and promised to help me or never called me back. You're helping a lot of people with your honesty and great quality of work. I can't thank you enough. Yay, I am an American Citizen!
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I began working with Martha after a decade of having my immigration process handled by attorneys that worked for my employers and everything changed immediately. Martha was invested in my personal story and circumstances and took all the time I needed to talk me through the options and process. She was consistently professional, knowledgable, and compassionate. She even leveraged her network to get specific information about my interview site in the Bay Area which was invaluable the day of my naturalization interview. She's the BEST.
I've struggle for over 10 years to get my Permanent Resident status and have been represented by 4 immigration lawyers over that period. The last one I hired and who was able to resolve my immigration case is Elizabeth Rompf Bruen. The contrast of how she handled my case and the other 3 lawyers was obvious from the beginning. She was always available when I wanted to talk to her and provided the updates in my case as soon as she had one. I also noticed a different level of knowledge and expertise in comparison to the other 3 lawyers....
Marta was the most professional, accurate and caring lawyer I’ve encountered in the 6 years I’ve been living in the US, her work ethics are unmatched and without doubt was the best decision for my process. I recommend her to anyone that needs help, you will feel listened and she is incredible when it comes to explaining this procedures in a simple and straight forward manner. She will be my first option again when the time comes in the future.
Elizabeth has been my immigration attorney on multiple cases. She handled my 3 different cases over past 7 years including the recent immigration case that got approval last month. Whenever I need attorney help, the only person I reach out to is Elizabeth. She is knowledgeable and very professional in handling any case. Elizabeth always kept me informed about the status of my case. She is very responsive to my emails and phone calls. I highly recommend Elizabeth.
Elizabeth helped me file, process and ultimately successfully complete my Naturalization "journey" to become an American citizen. There were bumps on the road as the process is time-consuming, confusing (to me) and frequently frustrating... But Elizabeth (and her staff) were always responsive, clear, knowledgeable and reliable. I am today an American citizen and I would recommend her services to anyone anytime. She is great!
We contacted Martha after reaching out 3 immigration lawyers and having terrible experiences. When it comes to immigration issues it is easy to play with peoples’ hopes, Martha was fresh air. Since the first call, Martha was straightforward and realistic, she thoroughly explained the rules that applied, most common/possible outcomes in my case, time frames and the requirements I had to meet. She didn’t oversimplify things nor came up with patchwork solution (considering my level of anxiety at that time), she came up with long term solutions that would take up some time but also were attainable. Together we set...
