IMMIGRATION & REFUGEE SERVICES HELP RELIGIOUS WORKERS
The religious worker visa program was established in 1990 to allow churches, synagogues and mosques struggling to fill jobs to hire qualified foreigners. Under the program, applicants must have a sponsor in the USA and attest that they are qualified to fill a particular job.
Immigration & Refugee Services of Catholic Charities of NW FL have assisted many religious workers in the past years. As a small office of immigration specialists, we have assisted five clients with their non-immigrant religious worker applications and four clients with immigrant religious worker applications. We were successful with getting permission from the Dept. of Homeland Security for all nine of them to stay in the USA and work as religious workers for the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese.
Out of those four that we have assisted with the immigrant religious worker applications, all four have applied for their “Green Card” with one already approved. The other three applications are still pending with Dept. of Homeland Security for a final decision. However, these same three are very fortunate in getting their immigrant religious worker applications approved within two months which is very RARE and is impossible to duplicate again.
Dept. of Homeland Security investigators first uncovered problems with the religious visa program in 1999, including applicants who were unqualified for the jobs they were hired for. In 2006, a Fraud Detection Unit in Dept. of Homeland Security found that 33% of the visas investigators examined were granted based on fraudulent information.
“We found that the program had been compromised and the fraud rate was excessively high,” said Emilio Gonzalez, head of Citizen and Immigration Services at Homeland Security.
To prevent fraud from happening, Dept. of Homeland Security has proposed new rules, which would allow inspectors and Customs officials to:
• Inspect religious organizations sponsoring applicants to make
sure they are legitimate.
• Require more proof from applicants that they are trained and
qualified for the job they’re being hired to do.
• Review W-2 forms or other proof of employment after one year on the job before extending the visa.
Government investigator has visited a few parishes from the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese. Our area received good results from all site visits hence, three lucky priests were approved within a very short time frame. They now can travel outside the USA to visit their family and friends without having to worry about their ability to return to the country.
Now, the Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese has more religious workers to serve God and guide us spiritually. These same clients are also wonderful volunteers for Catholic Charities of NW FL. They are all either bilingual or multi-lingual and are much needed in our Diocese and we are very thankful for their help and guidance.