WASHINGTON, D.C. — A long-standing immigration hurdle that forced thousands of foreign-born religious workers to leave the United States for a year at a time is being dismantled under a new rule issued by the Trump Administration, a move faith leaders say will bring immediate relief to congregations across the country.
On Wednesday, January 14, 2026, the administration released an Interim Final Rule, soon to be published in the Federal Register, eliminating the mandatory one-year period that religious workers were required to spend outside the United States between R-1 visas. Under the revised regulation, priests, religious sisters and brothers, and other faith workers may return on a subsequent R-1 visa without any minimum time abroad, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.
The change directly affects foreign-born religious workers who reach the five-year maximum stay under an R-1 visa and are often caught in decades-long backlogs for legal permanent residency. Until now, those workers were required to leave the country for at least a year before resuming ministry in the United States, frequently disrupting parishes, schools, and outreach programs.
Leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops welcomed the decision, calling it a significant step toward stabilizing religious life in communities nationwide.
“We are tremendously grateful for the Administration’s work to address certain challenges facing foreign-born religious workers, their employers, and the American communities they serve,” said Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the conference, and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, chairman of its Committee on Migration.
Catholic leaders said the change is especially critical for rural and underserved areas, where shortages of clergy and religious workers have been exacerbated by immigration delays. Green card wait times for religious workers, they noted, now stretch for decades, leaving ministries vulnerable to sudden staffing gaps.
For years, the bishops and their interfaith partners have pressed federal officials to address the issue, arguing that the forced departures undermined the free exercise of religion and placed unnecessary strain on faith-based institutions. Advocacy around the specific regulatory fix dates back to 2023, according to church officials.
In a joint statement, Coakley and Cahill said the rule will help minimize disruptions to what they described as cherished ministries serving Catholics and other people of faith throughout the United States. They also said the Religious Worker Visa Program plays an essential role in sustaining religious services nationwide.
While praising the regulatory change, the bishops stressed that broader reform is still needed. They renewed their call for Congress to pass the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act, which they say would provide more durable relief by addressing systemic visa backlogs.
The interim rule takes effect upon publication, immediately reshaping the immigration landscape for religious workers and offering a measure of certainty to congregations long caught between faith, federal policy, and time.
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