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Introduction
On January 16, 2026, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule titled Improving Continuity for Religious Organizations and Their Employees in the Federal Register. The rule reforms long-standing restrictions on R-1 religious worker visas by eliminating a mandatory one-year foreign residency requirement before returning to the United States after reaching the five-year maximum stay of the R-1 visa.
This rule will benefit thousands of foreign-born clergy, missionaries, educators, and nonprofit staff whose ministries and service work are central to the life of congregations and faith-based community organizations nationwide. For many of these individuals, the path to permanent residency (a green card) is already fraught with delays because religious workers are classified under the employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) category, which is currently experiencing severe backlogs that can stretch well beyond the five-year R-1 visa period. This reality makes the new interim final rule especially significant — even if it does not address the permanent residence delays directly.
More broadly, this regulatory change underscores the importance of flexible immigration policies that allow employers across all industries — not just religious institutions — to hire and retain noncitizen workers critical to their missions.
The rule took effect upon publication on January 16, 2026, and DHS is accepting comments on the interim final rule through March 17, 2026.
Key Provisions of the Interim Final Rule
Religious organizations — including churches, mosques, synagogues, and faith-based nonprofits — often rely on foreign-born clergy and support staff to sustain critical ministries, outreach programs, and community services.
Under prior regulations, noncitizens in R-1 status who reached the five-year maximum period of admission were required to depart the United States and remain physically outside the country for at least one full year before they could be readmitted under a new R-1 visa. This “one-year abroad” requirement often forced religious organizations to interrupt ministries, find temporary replacements, or scale back services while key staff remained overseas.
The new interim final rule streamlines the R-1 visa process in the following ways:
- Removes the required one-year foreign residency period for R-1 religious workers who have reached the maximum authorized stay.
- Allows eligible R-1 workers to depart the U.S., apply for a new R-1 visa, and be readmitted immediately without waiting abroad for 12 months.
- Maintains the existing five-year total stay limitation. Religious workers with R-1 visas must still depart after five years, but the path to return is streamlined.
- Continues to require all other eligibility and admissibility criteria for R-1 visas.
Faith leaders and advocacy organizations, such as World Relief and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have welcomed this regulatory adjustment as a meaningful step toward safeguarding essential religious services and supporting the free exercise of religion in local communities.
Conclusion
The Improving Continuity for Religious Organizations and Their Employees interim final rule eases a long-standing regulatory hurdle for R-1 religious workers, offering a practical, commonsense fix that will help ensure that vital ministries and community services continue uninterrupted. By eliminating the mandatory one-year foreign residency requirement, DHS has acknowledged both the dignity of religious workers and the central role faith-based organizations play in American civic life.