Religious Workforce Protection Act
Key claim: The Religious Workforce Protection Act would authorize DHS to extend nonimmigrant religious-worker status until permanent-resident applications are decided, allow employer changes for pending applicants, and waive the one-year foreign-residence requirement for workers who previously departed after visa expiration.
Abstract
(HR2672 · 119th Congress) Religious Workforce Protection Act This bill allows the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to extend the nonimmigrant visa status of certain religious workers. Under current law, if specified conditions are met, nonimmigrant religious workers may receive a visa for a period not to exceed five years. The bill allows DHS to grant an extension until the individual’s application for adjustment of status to permanent resident or an immigrant visa has been processed and a decision has been made. To be eligible for the extension, the individual must be (1) the beneficiary of a certain type of immigrant petition, and (2) eligible for such immigrant status absent the application of certain numerical limitations. Such individuals who have pending adjustment of status applications are also granted certain job flexibilities, such as the ability to change employers. Individuals who have previously departed the U.S. due to the expiration of their visa are exempt from the one-year foreign residence requirement to renew their visa. Latest action (2025-04-07): Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Why this matters
Religious workers on R-1 nonimmigrant status face a hard five-year cap that often expires before their EB-4 special-immigrant petitions are adjudicated, forcing departures that disrupt congregations and restart residency clocks. The bill would smooth the bridge between nonimmigrant and permanent-resident status, add portability for pending applicants, and offer relief to workers already caught by the timing gap, without altering underlying visa categories or numerical limits.