The EB4 visa is a green card for persons who are ministers or non-ministers in religious vocations or occupations that will be performing full-time compensated religious work in a non-profit organization. For the 2 years immediately prior to filing the EB4 green card petition, the person must have been a member in a religious denomination (that has a non-profit organization in the United States) and worked continuously as a minister or in a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation.
Under the INA §203(b)(4), 8 USC §1153(b)(4), the EB4 visa for religious workers is a part of the fourth preference employment-based immigrant visas where there is no maximum limit on the number of green cards that can be issued to religious ministers per year. However, for religious workers who are not ministers, there is a maximum limit of 5000 green cards that can be issued to these types of workers per year and they are usually subject to a sunset (end) date where the non-minister religious workers will no longer be eligible for the EB4 green card unless the sunset (end) date is extended by the U.S. government.
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Table of Contents
A person qualified for an EB4 green card must have (1) a membership in a religious denomination (that has a non-profit organization in the United States) and worked as a minister or in a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation for at least 2 years immediately prior to filing the petition, and (2) a job offer for a compensated full-time position as a minister or a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation. Full-time work is 35 hours each week.
The original statutory wording for qualified persons in the EB4 religious worker green card petitions can be found in 8 CFR §§204.5(m).
A person qualified as a minister under an EB4 green card must be fully authorized or trained by a religious denomination to perform religious worship and other duties that are normally performed by members of the clergy. For example, administering sacraments (religious ritual or ceremony) such as baptism or eucharists. The activities performed by the person must show a rational relationship to the religious calling of a minister, however, incidental duties (e.g., administrative duties) can be included.
Lay preachers (not ordained) are not considered ministers under the EB4 green card. Under the EB4 green card petitions, it is common for the religious denominations to require ministers to have some form of training, certification of ordination, license, or other documentation from accredited theology institutions. Examples of ministers under the EB4 green card petition can include priests, pastors, rabbis, deacons, buddhist monks, imam…etc.
A person qualified for a religious vocation under an EB4 green card must have a calling or devotion to take on a religious lifestyle created by making a lifelong commitment with vows or ceremonies required by the religious denomination. The religious denomination must have a class of members dedicating their life to religious functions and practices as compared to their secular members. For example, nuns, monks, religious sister or brother…etc.
A person qualified for a religious occupation under an EB4 green card must be engaged in activity that is devoted to traditional religious functions and it must involve inculcating or carrying out the denomination’s religious beliefs and creeds. The person’s position must also be recognized as a religious occupation under the religious denomination. Some examples of non-minister religious occupations are missionaries, cantors, liturgical workers, religious instructors, religious counselors, catechists, religious broadcasters, religious translators, workers in religious healthcare facilities or religious hospitals.
Administrative or supporting jobs performing nonreligious functions that do not directly involve spreading the religious denomination’s teachings are not qualified as religious occupation, such as receptionists, clerical personnel, fundraising staff, singers, or maintenance workers. Volunteers are not included as a religious occupation.
Required 2 Year Continuous Religious Work Experience
The 2 year required work experience as a minister or in a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation immediately prior to filing the EB4 green card petition can be gained either overseas or in the United States (even if not gained under lawful employment authorization). The 2 years religious work experience cannot be voluntary work and it must be shown that the person was compensated (which can be salaried or nonsalaried). The job duties of the person’s past religious work experience do not need to be the same as the proposed job duties in the EB4 green card petition.
The religious work experience required under the EB4 green card petition must be continuous, however, a break in the 2 year period immediately prior to filing the EB4 green card petition is allowed if (1) the person was still employed as a religious worker and remained a member of the religious denomination throughout that employment, (2) the break was for religious training or sabbatical (that does not involve unauthorized work in the United States), and (3) the break was not longer than 2 years.
Studying under an F1 student visa status in the United States may be permitted break in the 2 year religious work experience requirement if the courses are related to the ministerial vocation and that it can be shown the person continued to perform the duties of a minister of the religion. Other commonly seen breaks such as pregnancy leave, spousal care, sick leave, or vacations do not break the 2-year religious work experience requirement as long as the person was still employed during that time.
A qualified U.S. employer under the EB4 green card petition should be a (or affiliated to a) IRC §501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States that is part of the person’s religious denomination membership. The U.S. employer must be either one of the following:
- A non-profit religious organization in the U.S.
- A religious organization authorized by a group tax exemption holder to use its tax exemption
- A non-profit religious organization affiliated with a religious denomination in the U.S.
Religious Denomination
A religious denomination is a religious group (or community of believers) that is governed under a common type of ecclesiastical government and includes at least a common (1) creed or statement of faith, (2) form of worship, (3) formal code of discipline and doctrine, (4) religious ceremonies and services, (5) established places of worship or congregations, or (6) comparable indicia (e.g., sign of a bona fide religious denomination).
The EB4 green card petition for religious workers has three main requirements that need to be satisfied: evidence must be provided to the USCIS to show that (1) the person has a membership in a religious denomination (that has a non-profit organization in the United States) and worked as a minister or in a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation for at least 2 years immediately prior to filing the petition, (2) a job offer for a compensated full-time position as a minister or a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation, and (3) the U.S. employer must be a (or affiliated to a) IRC §501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States.
The evidence provided to the USCIS for the EB4 religious worker green card petition must show:
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- The person is a member of a religious denomination (that has a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the U.S.) for at least 2 years immediately prior to filing the EB4 green card petition
- The U.S. employer is either a non-profit religious organization in the United States or a non-profit religious organization affiliated with a religious denomination in the United States
- The job offered in the United States is a compensated (salaried or unsalaried) full-time position (35 hours per week)
- The person will work as a minister, or in a religious vocation or religious occupation
- The person worked as a religious worker continuously for at least 2 years immediately prior to filing the EB4 petition
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The original statutory wording for the evidentiary requirements of the EB4 green card can be found in 8 CFR 204.5(m)(8).
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) Exemption
If the requirements listed create a significant burden on the organization to exercise religion, an RFRA exemption can be requested along with the initial filing of the EB4 (Form I-360) petition. The written statement must include how the provision prevents participation in an activity motivated by a sincerely held religious belief or requires participation in a banned activity by a sincerely held religious belief. This exemption will be reviewed on a case-by-case and the petitioner has the burden of proof in showing that it qualifies for an RFRA exemption.
The total time an EB4 green card takes is consisted of the processing time for (1) the EB4 green card petition (Form I-360) with the USCIS and (2) the change of status when the person’s priority date becomes current by filing the Form I-485 application if adjusting status within the United States or the DS-260 application if doing consular processing at a U.S. consulate or embassy located outside the United States.
Factors that influence the EB4 green card processing time usually include but are not limited to where the person (or spouse) was born, if there was any Request for Evidence (“RFE”) issued, and the caseload of the USCIS service center and the U.S. consulate or embassy.
A rough estimate for the Form I-360 petition is around 6 to 12 months. Premium processing is not available for EB4 green card petitions.
Priority Date for Status Change
There are two parts in the processing time for a change of status: (1) the time to when the person’s EB4 green card priority date becomes current which can range from no wait time (common for religious workers) to multiple years (rare for religious workers) depending on what country the person or their spouse was born in, and (2) the time to process Form I-485 for adjustment of status or DS-260 for consular processing which a rough estimate can range from 4 to 15 months.
After the USCIS approves the EB4 green card petition (Form I-360), the person will then wait for their priority date to become current to apply for a change of status into a green card holder (lawful permanent resident). The priority date for EB4 green card petitions is the date that the USCIS receives the immigration petition (Form I-360). For people from most countries, their EB4 green card petitions will usually have a current priority date at the time of filing. For people from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Mexico, there is some waiting time for their priority date under an EB4 green card petition to become current within this green card visa category, however, it is still considered a relatively short waiting time.
The reason as to why there are different wait times for a priority date to become current is due to the total limit on how many green cards (immigrant visas) can be given out each year and a separate limit on how many green cards are allotted for each country. For people born in certain countries (based on country of birth and not country of citizenship) such as Mexico, there is usually not enough available visas (green cards) each year due to high-volume immigration from those countries so they would have to wait for their visas (green cards) to become available which would be based on when their priority date becomes current in the monthly Visa Bulletin released by the U.S. Department of State (DOS).
Cross-Chargeability
Cross-chargeability is often used when the person’s country of birth has a visa backlog problem but the country of birth for the person’s spouse does not. The person born in the country that has a visa availability backlog problem will use the cross-chargeability rule to be charged against (use the quota of) the spouse’s country instead (this usually results in obtaining the green card much earlier). For example, a person born in China (which usually has a visa availability backlog problem) with a spouse born in South Korea (which does not have a visa availability backlog problem): both of them can use the quota of South Korea instead of China when they apply to change into their green card visa status. It does not matter which person is the primary person pursuing the green card petition.
Minor children can be charged to either parent’s country of birth, or in some circumstances the child can be charged to a third country that neither parent was born in or had residence in when the child was born. For example, both parents were born in Japan but their child was born in China during a temporary vacation there: the child can be charged against the quota of Japan. Under most circumstances, derivative beneficiaries (such as the spouse or children of green card visa applicants) cannot be eligible to apply to change into their green card visa status before the principal green card visa applicant.
Please note that parents cannot use their minor children’s country of birth under the cross-chargeability rule. For example, both parents were born in China and their child was born in Japan. The parents cannot use Japan which is their child’s country of birth and would still need to use China which is their own country of birth to wait for their green card.
Changing into the green card visa status (the lawful permanent resident immigrant visa status) is the final step in being able to work freely and live permanently in the United States. There are two ways to obtain the green card visa status: adjustment of status and consular processing.
Adjustment of status is usually for a person who is already in the United States with a valid nonimmigrant visa status and has maintained a lawful visa status throughout their time within the United States. On the other hand, consular processing is for a person living outside the United States or for a person who is ineligible in adjusting their status in the United States.
For a person who is residing overseas (outside the United States) or a person who is ineligible for an adjustment of status with the Form I-485 application, consular processing must be done to obtain the EB4 green card visa status (i.e., lawful permanent resident). Consular processing usually involves the person attending an in-person interview at the U.S. consulate or embassy located in their home country. In certain circumstances, a person can do consular processing in another country as a “Third Country National.”
After the interview approval at the U.S. consulate or embassy, the person would have to be admitted entry into the United States by the CBP officer at the border (usually at the airport). In other words, the person would have to physically enter the United States after their interview approval as the final step for their EB4 green card visa status to be activated.
For a person who is already in the United States with a valid nonimmigrant visa, there are usually two options available to obtain the EB4 green card visa status (Lawful Permanent Resident):
(1) Adjustment of Status: this is the more commonly chosen option where the person would file a Form I-485 application to adjust their status without leaving the United States. The person would attend an in-person interview at a local USCIS office in the United States and the interview approval would serve as the final step for their EB4 green card visa status to be activated.
The adjustment of status application (Form I-485) can be filed when the person’s priority date becomes current in the Visa Bulletin which means that there are no backlogs in visa availability for the person’s country of birth (not country of citizenship). This can happen while the green card petition (Form I-360) is still pending (i.e., before approval) with the USCIS or after the green card petition (Form I-140) is approved by the USCIS. It can also happen in concurrent filings (Form I-140 and Form I-485 sent together) where the person’s priority date is already current at the time of filing the green card petition (Form I-360) to the USCIS (which is more common for EB4 religious workers).
When the adjustment of status application (Form I-485) is filed, applications for the employment authorization document (Form I-765, commonly known as the “EAD card”) and the travel document (Form I-131, commonly known as “Advance Parole”) can also be filed at the same time.
The EAD card allows unrestricted employment where a person can change their job freely and can legally work for any employer in the United States, unlike a work visa such as an H1B visa which restricts a person to work for a specific employer in the United States.
Advance parole allows a person to travel internationally while their adjustment of status is still pending. If a person has a pending adjustment of status application (Form I-485) with the USCIS but leaves the United States without advance parole and does not have a certain valid nonimmigrant visa status (H1B visa, H4 visa, L1 visa, L2 visa, K3 visa, K4 visa, V visa) that allows international travel, their adjustment of status will be considered abandoned.
(2) Consular Processing: this is usually chosen if a person cannot show that they have maintained their lawful visa status in the United States or when the processing time for consular processing is much faster than the adjustment of status.
When the EB4 green card petition (Form I-360) is approved, the person’s spouse and dependent children (unmarried and under the age of 21) may be eligible to enter the United States under the SD-2 or SD-3 immigrant status, respectively.
The EB4 green card petitions are commonly filed for religious workers who have a job offer for a compensated full-time position as a minister or a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation from a U.S. employer. The religious worker must have been a member of a religious demonization that has a non-profit organization in the United States and has worked continuously as a minister or in a qualified non-minister vocation or occupation for the 2 years immediately prior to filing the EB4 green card petition.
Unlike most other employment-based green card petitions, the EB4 green card petitions can be filed by a U.S. sponsoring employer or the person themselves. Green cards that require sponsorship from an employer means that the beneficiary (which is the person who will be getting the green card) would need a U.S. employer (e.g., company) to file a green card petition for them and pay the fees related to the green card petition. On the contrary, green cards that allow “self-sponsorship” means that a person can file and pay for their own green card application.
In other words, the EB4 green card petitions can be sponsored by a U.S. employer which means that the U.S. sponsoring employer will start and pay for the EB4 green card petition, or the religious worker can choose to self-sponsor their own EB4 green card petition instead which means the person can start and pay for the EB4 green card petition by themselves, however, there still needs to be a job offer (just no sponsorship) from a specific U.S. employer under an EB4 green card petition. The U.S. employer must be able to show that they have the ability to compensate the person’s work.
R1 visa is the temporary work visa (nonimmigrant visa status) for religious workers. Due to the similarities in the R1 visa and EB4 green card requirements, religious workers who are already holding the R1 visa status are usually good candidates for the EB4 religious worker green card petitions.
Other alternative employment-based green card petitions are for workers in different fields and usually require a higher standard in eligibility than the EB4 green card petitions, however, these are still possible alternatives if the religious worker’s qualifications do not fit the EB4 green card petition just yet.
Other alternative employment-based green card petitions can include: (1) EB1 green cards (science, business, arts, athletics, educations, outstanding professors or researchers, multinational executives or managers), (2) EB2 green cards (advanced degree, science, business, art), (3) EB2 green cards under Schedule A Group II (performing arts, science, arts), (4) EB2 green cards filed with a National Interest Waiver (EB2 NIW), (5) EB2 green cards filed with a Physician’s National Interest Waiver (EB2 PNIW), (6) EB3 green cards (professional, skilled workers, unskilled workers), (7) EB3 green cards under Schedule A Group I (professional nurse, physical therapist) and (8) EB5 green card (investor).
Closer Alternatives
The closest immigrant visa (green card) alternative to the EB4 green card petition for religious workers would be the EB3 green card petitions (Professional, Skilled, Unskilled Workers). The EB3 green card petition are for 3 groups of workers: professional workers, skilled workers, and other unskilled workers. Professional workers under the EB3 green card petition are required to be a member of a profession with at least a bachelor’s degree (or its foreign equivalent) and a job offer that requires a bachelor’s degree. Skilled workers under the EB3 green card petition are required to have qualifications to perform a job that requires at least 2 years of training or work experience. Other workers under the EB3 green card petition are only required to be able to perform an unskilled job that requires less than 2 years of training or work experience.
Unlike the EB4 green card petitions for religious workers, all EB3 green card petitions require a sponsoring U.S. employer and a PERM Labor Certification. One exception for the PERM labor certificate requirement to be waived is if the occupation falls under Schedule A. Schedule A Group I occupations that include physical therapists and professional nurses are more commonly used for EB3 green card petitions.
Further Alternatives
The EB1 green card petitions require the highest standards in eligibility. There are three subcategories under the EB1 green card (1) persons who are nationally or internationally recognized for their extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics (EB1a green card), (2) professors or researchers who are internationally recognized as outstanding in their academic field (EB1b green card), or (3) executives or managers of multinational companies (EB1c green card). EB1 green card petitions do not require a PERM labor certification and the EB1a green card subcategory (for aliens of extraordinary ability) does not even require a specific U.S. employer for the petition just proof that the person will continue to work in their field of expertise.
The EB2 advanced degree green cards are for persons who have at least a master’s degree (or a bachelor’s degree and 5 years of post-college progressive work experience) and have a job offer for a position that requires that specific type of degree. The EB2 exceptional ability green card is for persons who have exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business. The Schedule A Group II EB2 green cards are for persons who have exceptional ability in the performing arts, sciences, or arts. A national interest waiver can be filed with an EB2 green card petition when the person qualifies for an EB2 green card and is also qualified in being able to make contributions that substantially benefit the United States as a nation. A physician’s national interest waiver can be filed with an EB2 green card petition for certain doctors who agrees to provide healthcare services in certain U.S. government-designated facilities or medical personnel shortage areas. The EB5 green card is for foreign investors who put a certain amount of capital (money) into a U.S. business.
If you have an EB4 green card (Religious Workers) immigration question, please fill out our contact us form or send us an email with some basic information about your background and your immigration needs. We will do our best to respond within 48 hours.
How we can help?
Kylie Huang Law’s immigration attorney will help identify whether the EB4 green card is the appropriate immigrant visa category for the client’s (or the client’s beneficiary’s) professional background. We will work closely with our client to prepare a convincing case for their (or it’s) EB4 green card petition and we will also strategize on how the EB4 green card petition should be presented to achieve the best chances of approval. It is strongly advised and common practice to retain an immigration attorney for an EB4 green card petition (religious worker green card) due to the complexities in the immigration process and visa requirements.
What does the typical process look like to retain (hire) us?
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- Fill out the form (with some basic information on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment online
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom meeting)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
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- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule an appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (signing a contract to hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming contents of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the status of the case
- Close the case when a final determination is issued
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- Fill out the form (on what your immigration needs are)
- Sign up and log into the client portal to schedule appointment
- Attend scheduled appointment (typically a phone call or zoom)
- Retainment (hire us)
- Start processing case
- Gathering required documents
- Preparing paperwork
- Confirming content of documents that will be submitted
- Filing the case
- Following up on the case status
- Close the case when a final determination is issued