Category Archives: Applying for a Visa

Adjustment of Status, Applying for a Visa, Green Cards, Public Charge- Financial Requirements

The Affidavit of Support – Establishing Domicile for the Affidavit of Support

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As stated in my recent posts, in order to be a sponsor (whether a main sponsor or a joint sponsor) for an Affidavit of Support you need to establish domicile in the U.S.    Remember, an Affidavit of Support is needed whenever a person immigrates based on his relationship to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident.  To be honest, domicile is a slippery concept.   It does not mean,”residence”, which is where your intent to live is.  Domicile is where you actually live (I guess that means you can intend to live in one place and actually live in another).   But it does not automatically mean where you are living — if you can follow that.   Let me give you an example.   Joe goes to Germany for two years.   He keeps his real residence in Pennsylvania with his parents and that is where he has all his financial ties and what he views as home.  Both his residence and his domicile are in Pennsylvania and his stay in Pennsylvania is decidedly temporary, even though it is two years.   Now, same situation, and he still views his parents’ home in Pennsylvania as his permanent home with relationship and financial ties there, but he starts to view Germany as his home away from home — you might say that while his residence is in Pennsylvania, his domicile is in Germany.

This is very important.   If the petitioner (and any joint sponsors) want to file an Affidavit of Support, they need to show that they are domiciled in the US.   If they are living in the US, that is easy to show.    If they are living abroad for more than a relatively short visit, it is a more difficult issue to prove.

One way to prove that your domicile is in the US is to show that you are just temporarily abroad, even if it is for an extended period.  You will want to show proof of a US address and ties to that US address — especially financial ties, but also other ties as well — I often include pictures of my client’s room in the US and pictures of their personal effects that are still at that address.

However, the longer you are out of the country, the harder it is to prove that you are out of the US temporarily.   One way around this situation is to show that you will be returning to the US by proof that there is a job waiting for you in the US.  I also usually include a letter from the people where you will be staying stating that you will be living with them.  It is even better if you can get a lease — but getting a lease and a job offer can be very difficult when you don’t know how long it will be until you come to the US.

A final option is for M-ssionaries only.   There is a sort of exception for M-ssionary workers abroad.  I say “sort of” because they still need to prove that they are abroad “temporarily” which is the same as what I discussed above.   However, the advantage is that historically, there is sort of an assumption that m-ssionaries maintain their residence (and domicile) in the US and are on the “field” only temporarily.   However, since the Consulates don’t always properly apply this rule, I always provide as much evidence of ties to the US as I can.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

 

Adjustment of Status, Applying for a Visa, Public Charge- Financial Requirements

The Affidavit of Support – Who is a Sponsor, a Joint Sponsor or a Household Member?

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Almost every family-based immigrant needs to have a sponsor who will file an Affidavit of Support for them.  The purpose, as stated in my recent posts, is to assure the USCIS or the Department of State that the immigrant will not need to access welfare.

A family-based immigrant is coming to the United States because someone in the United States filed a petition for them.   That person, the “petitioner”, is the “sponsor” and must file an affidavit of support for all of the immigrants for whom he petitioned.   If he doesn’t satisfy the essential requirements, set out last week, he cannot file an Affidavit of Support, and the immigrant cannot come to the United States.

If however, the only problem is that the sponsor lacks the required income or assets, he has two options.   He can get a “joint sponsor” or he can have a “household member” lend him assistance.   I will discuss the household member first.

The household member has to be the sponsor’s close relative: parent, spouse, child or sibling or any other person who is listed on the sponsor’s most recent tax return as a dependent.  The parent, spouse, child or sibling needs to live at the same address.  A person who is listed as a dependent on the tax return does not need to live at that residence.   The intending immigrant can also be a household member if they have income or assets that can be counted in order to keep him off welfare.   Foreign income cannot be counted for this purpose. The household member also has to satisfy the normal requirements of all sponsors relating to domicile and filing tax returns, etc.

The advantage of having a household member join in the sponsorship is that the household member’s income and assets are added to the income and assets of the primary sponsor.    Then the total is used to prove that the immigrant will not be able to and will not need to access welfare.

A joint sponsor’s income and assets are counted differently.   A joint sponsor is treated just like a separate sponsor.  They have to satisfy all the requirements of being a sponsor — relating to filing taxes and domicile.  They do not need to be related to the main sponsor.  They do not add their income and assets together with the main sponsor — instead, they need to have enough income and assets on their own (or with the help of a household member of their own) to guarantee that the immigrant will not need to go on welfare.

There is one interesting quirk with a joint sponsor.   If, suppose, I bring over my brother and his wife — a total of two people.   As the sponsor, I need to file an affidavit of support to cover both of them.   However, if I can find two joint sponsors, one can sponsor my brother, and the other can sponsor his wife.   This reduces the amount of income that both joint sponsors need to show.   You can only do this with joint sponsors and you can only do this if there are at least two people to sponsor and you can only do it with a maximum of two joint sponsors.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

Adjustment of Status, Applying for a Visa, Green Cards, Public Charge- Financial Requirements

The Affidavit of Support – Who Can Submit an Affidavit of Support?

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There are a number of considerations as to who can submit an affidavit of support.   The first requirement is that it has to be a person.    A company or a ch-rch or m-ssion organization cannot submit an Affidavit of Support.

On the other hand, anybody can submit an Affidavit of Support.  It doesn’t have to be a close relative.   It can be a friend.   However, I will add this.  Lately, they have been taking into consideration the motivation that the sponsor has to support the immigrant.   They are looking for blood or relationship ties that will motivate the sponsor to carry through with his promise to provide the support.

In order to submit an Affidavit of Support, however, the sponsor also needs to be a U.S. citizen or a U.S. lawful permanent resident.  The sponsor also needs to be “domiciled” in the U.S.  That means that he has to actually be living there (or intends to be living there).   There are some exceptions to this rule, such as a missionary temporarily stationed abroad.   But I have heard of at least one case where a U.S. spouse was told to go live in the US before they would allow her to be a sponsor.   But I think that a carefully prepared case presentation will usually resolve this issue.

The Sponsor also generally needs to have sufficient U.S. income to equal 125% of the poverty level for his household and the immigrant.   If his income is insufficient, sometimes he can make up the difference using his assets — but you usually need quite a bit of assets to successfully do this.   I will talk about doing this in a later posting.

The Sponsor also needs to have filed US taxes for the past three years.  If he has not, then he has to provide a reasonable explanation for why he has not filed — such as insufficient income.  However, of course, if he has had insufficient income in the past three years, that will probably disqualify him from being a sponsor.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

Adjustment of Status, Applying for a Visa, Green Cards, Public Charge- Financial Requirements

The Affidavit of Support – What is It and Who Needs It?

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There has always been the question of whether or not immigrants should be able to access welfare.  There are those who think it is fine.  There are those who are strongly opposed to it.

A couple of decades ago, those who were opposed to the idea of immigrants getting welfare came up with the idea of an Affidavit of Support.  The Affidavit of Support they created has since become an important part of the immigration process.

This Affidavit of Support is required for every person, with limited exceptions, who obtains permanent resident status in the United States through a relative-based visa petition.   It even applies to certain beneficiaries of an employment petition if a relative of theirs owns a 5% or greater interest in the company that is sponsoring the immigrant.  It does not apply to most employment petitions or to Special Immigrant R-ligious worker petitions.

One of the few exceptions for relatives is if the immigrant is an adopted child who will automatically gain citizenship upon entry to the United States.  In that case the child will not need an Affidavit of Support.

The Affidavit of Support is a promise to keep the immigrant off welfare.  Among other things, the Sponsor, the person signing the Affidavit of Support, needs to demonstrate that he has the income and/or assets necessary to keep the immigrant off welfare.  Originally, the idea was simply that the Sponsor’s income and assets would be counted in determining if the immigrant was able to access welfare — if you don’t know, a person cannot access welfare if he, or his sponsor, has a certain level of income or assets.

As with most things, Affidavits of Support have changed in how they are applied.  Over the years, courts have expanded the effects of signing an Affidavit of Support.  There have been cases where the immigrant have even successfully sued the Sponsor for financial support — which I think clearly was not the original intent.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

Applying for a Visa, Fiance Visa, Green Cards

Comparing and Contrasting the Fiance Visa, the Spousal Immigration Visa and the K-3 visa

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There are three legal immigration options for a person, living abroad, who is engaged to a U.S. citizen.   If the person, living abroad, is married to a U.S. citizen, there are two legal options.  The two legal options are the spousal visa consular process or the K-3 process.  The fiancé, contemplating marriage, has the option of using the fiancé visa process or getting married and choosing one of the other two options that I just listed as being available to a married person.  All three of these options have been discussed in posts during the last couple of months.  For both the fiancé and the spouse, there is the option of entering as a tourist (and getting married if you are a fiancé) and applying for adjustment of status.  However, I do not recommend this route because it is illegal.  I discussed this option three weeks ago.

All three options have benefits and drawbacks.   The main drawback for the fiancé and K-3 routes is that they cost about $1,000 more in filing fees and costs.   The attorney fees are usually more too, because they are more complicated.  The main drawback for the spousal visa consular process is that it is slower — usually at least two or three months slower.

The main benefit for the fiancé route is that it usually is quicker in getting the fiancé to the U.S..   It is usually at least two to three months quicker.   More importantly, when a client is talking to me, and they are engaged, they can file right away.   If they decide to wait until they are married, and file the spousal visa consular process, not only is that route slower, they can’t start it until they are married, which could add another two or three months to the time differential.

There are two main drawbacks with the fiancé petition route.  As mentioned above, the entire process is at least $1,000 more expensive in costs and filing fees (without counting additional attorney fees).   The other drawback is that while the fiancé gets to the U.S. more quickly, she doesn’t get her green card at that point.  Once she gets married, she can file for Adjustment of Status to get her green card, but that process could take another year or more.   She can stay here in the U.S. legally while that process runs its course.   She will most likely be able to work during most of that time (she will need to file for employment authorization), and she will be able to get travel permission eventually, but it is still an expensive and long wait for the green card.

The K-3 process is very similar to the fiancé process.  It is more expensive but quicker than the spousal visa consular process, and, once in the U.S. the alien spouse will need to file for Adjustment of Status.  The other difference in the K-3 process is that the Department of State, fo some reason, does not like this process.  As stated in a recent post, the Department of Stats will often refuse to do the K-3 process and instead require the applicant to go through the regular spousal visa consular process.

The spousal visa consular process has the benefit of being simpler and cheaper and, once the foreign spouse has arrived in the US, she immediately receives her Lawful Permanent Resident status and can almost immediately start to work and travel.  The drawback is that it is slower.   I have been telling people to expect a ten to sixteen month process, and it may currently be taking longer.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

Adjustment of Status, Applying for a Visa, Fiance Visa, Green Cards

The Fiance Visa Process

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The Finace Visa process is a way that that Congress set up to facilitate the immigration of fiances of U.S. citizens.    This is only for people who are engaged to be married and intend to be married and who will not marry until the foreign fiancé has arrived in the US.  Once the foreign fiance arrives in the United States, they must get married within 90 days.  I know of people, thinking to help their case along, who got married while they were waiting for the visa to come, and as a result had to start all over with a spousal visa — which causes a major delay.

As I stated above, the fiancé visa is only for fiances of U.S. citizens.  A green card holder cannot use this route to bring a fiancé to the US.  Both parties have to be unmarried from the start of the process (i.e., someone can’t file this if they are still married and waiting a divorce).   They have to remain unmarried until the fiancé visa is processed, the foreign fiancé has had her interview, received her visa and has entered the U.S.   They then absolutely need to get married within 90 days of arrival in the U.S.

Another requirement for the visa is that you need to establish that you have met in person within the two years immediately preceding the filing of the visa petition.   They will not accept pictures alone as proof of this meeting.  They want additional evidence like passport stamps or flight itineraries.

The process is started when the U.S. Citizen fiancé files a fiancé petition with the USCIS requesting the approval of a fiancé visa.  The USCIS processes the petition and upon approval, sends it to the Department of State.  That first step usually takes between three and six months, but it can take longer.   Once the Department of State gets the petition, they send it to the appropriate consulate or embassy.

Once the consulate receives the petition, they notify the applicant that it is time for them to start gathering the relevant evidence — birth and police certificates and proof of financial sponsorship and relationship evidence and a medical examination.  At this point, the foreign fiancé also pays the fiancé visa application fee.  Once they have all this completed, the applicant notifies the consulate and schedules an appointment.   This process usually goes quite quickly.

At the interview, the fiancé will be examined mostly regarding her relationship with the US fiancé, although they may look at other issues as well.   I had one fiancé applicant, long ago, who listened to the other people in the waiting room and told the examiner that she was going to get together with her fiancé to see if she wanted to marry him.   The examiner rejected her because she needs to intend to get married in order to get this visa.

Once the visa is issued, the fiancé has six months to enter the U.S.   Then, as stated above, they need to get married within 90 days.  And then the challenging part of the process begins.

Up to this point, the foreign fiancé only has a K (fiancé) visa.   She does not yet have a green card.   Once she is married, she then files an application for adjustment of status to apply for the green card.   Two weeks ago I wrote about the process for filing for adjustment of status.  I won’t repeat that here.  It is all the same except that you do not need to file a spousal immigrant petition — the approved fiancé petition takes the place of the spousal immigrant petition.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

 

Applying for a Visa, Green Cards

An overview of the Consular Immigration Process for the Relative of a U.S. citizen if they are outside the U.S.

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Normally, if a relative of a U.S. citizen is outside the U.S. they will need to go through Consular Processing to obtain and immigrant visa and come to the U.S.   There are two groups of relatives — immediate relatives and other relatives.  Spouses, children or parents of U.S. citizens are called immediate relatives.  Immediate relatives generally go through the Consular processing immediately after their visa petition is approved.  When I refer to children, I am referring to children of US citizens who were not born US citizens.  Children who are born US citizens, of course, do not need to immigrate.   Other relatives, such as siblings and adult children of U.S. citizens undergo the same immigrant process, but they usually have years to wait after the visa petition is filed and before they can start the Consular processing.

Consular processing is the process of obtaining an immigrant visa and entering the United States.

The immigration process is started when a U.S. citizen files a visa petition for his relative with the USCIS.   Immediate relatives get preferred processing — their petitions are processed somewhat expeditiously — it might be two or three months — but it also might be eight months to a year.   Right now it seems to be taking about five to seven months.    Other relatives, because they have a long backlog, might not get their petitions approved for a couple of years or more (this is because there is no reason for the USCIS to hurry.  Even if the USCIS would hurry, that would not allow them to come any sooner because the backlog is at the Consulate (which is part of the Department of State).

After the USCIS approves a visa petition it sends the petition packet information to the Department of State — to the National Visa Center (NVC).  The NVC is in charge of gathering the documents.   Currently, for most applicants, all the required documents — birth, marriage, and police certificates, and Affidavits of Support, among others — are uploaded to the NVC website.  Also, visa and Affidavit of Support processing fees are paid to the NVC.  The applicant will also need to fill out an on-line visa application.  The NVC can be quite picky about the documents it accepts.  I have had it repeatedly reject an acceptable document — I finally convinced it to accept the document, but we lost a substantial bit of time. Once the NVC gathers all the documents, it will put the applicant in the queue for an interview.   Usually it takes two to four months to get to the interview from the time the Visa petition is approved.  Unfortunately, it is taking much longer right now.

Once the Interview is finally scheduled, the applicant needs to get a medical examination from an approved doctor.    You want to get it as close to the time of the interview as possible because you have to enter the US within 6 months of the date of the examination.    The interview will be at the consulate.   If you are the spouse of the US citizen, you should expect some questions about your relationship.

After the interview, presuming that the visa is approved, you will get your visa from the Consulate.  You will then need to pay an on-line immigrant fee to the USCIS.   Then you can enter the U.S.   You must do it before the expiration date on your visa.   Once you pass customs, you will receive lawful permanent resident status.    Your green card should come in the mail within the next several weeks, but it could take months.    Your stamped visa will serve as proof of your lawful permanent resident status until your green card comes in the mail.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

 

Adjustment of Status, Applying for a Visa, Green Cards

Adjustment of Status versus Consular Processing

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There are two main routes for obtaining permanent residence (a Green Card) in the United States: Adjustment of Status and Consular Processing.  Each of these can be used in different circumstances and it is important to know the difference.

Adjustment of Status is the “Holy Grail” of the immigration process.  This is what people usually prefer if they can get it.   However, not everyone can qualify.

The main advantage of Adjustment of Status is that it allows the person seeking the Green Card to stay here in the United States while his Green Card is processing.  If a person is in the United States when the opportunity opens for him to apply for a Green Card, and he satisfies certain conditions, he may qualify for Adjustment of Status.   You generally need to already be here when the opportunity opens for you to apply.   For example, a person who is here on a tourist visa for six months may meet an American and decide to get married and stay here; he would normally be able to apply for Adjustment of Status.   He will not immediately be allowed to work, but he can request employment permission which will usually be granted after about four months.  Another situation could be a person who is here on a temporary work visa and who qualifies for an employment-based immigrant visa.   He will often be able to file for Adjustment of Status so that he can stay here and work while he waits for his green card to be processed.

The disadvantage of Adjustment of Status is that it will not work for everyone.  You are not allowed to come to the US with the intent to apply for a green card.  If you do that, it might work, and it might result in major immigration problems.  If you have entered illegally, you cannot adjust status.  For everyone except spouses, parents and children of US citizens, you cannot adjust status if you have been here illegally at all.  In cases like these the applicant has to leave the U.S. and try to obtain permanent residence through Consular Processing.

Consular processing is for people who can’t, or don’t want to, adjust status.   Consular processing requires that the petitioner file a visa petition in the US and, after the USCIS processes the petition, it gets transferred to the consulate or embassy in the home (or residence) country of the visa applicant.   This whole process can easily take over a year for spouses, parents and children of US citizens.  The process for other visa applicants who might be on a waiting list can take years.  Then when it is time, the visa applicant is given an appointment for a visa interview at the consulate.   After the interview, assuming he is approved, he is given a visa which gives him six months to come to the U.S. to live.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

 

Applying for a Visa, Green Cards, R-ligious Worker Green Card

Applying for Special Immigrant R-ligious Worker Status (Adjustment of Status or Consular Processing)

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As I wrote two weeks ago, if you are still in the U.S. in legal status when the I-360 is approved, you can file the Application for Adjustment of status.  This process will take about a year, but sometimes as long as 18 months or more.  If your spouse and children are here with you in legal status, they can file too.   It is quite expensive.   Until now the fee each person, 14 years old and older, had to pay $1,225.  The fee for someone under 14 was $750.

However, starting October 2, 2020, the fees are going up substantially.  The basic fee is $1,130 for everyone regardless of age.   If you want to also file for work authorization, there is an additional $550 filing fee.  If you also want to file for travel authorization, there is an additional $590 feeOnce you file, you are allowed to stay here in the U.S. while you are waiting for the green card to be approved.  You can also request employment and travel authorization when you apply for Adjustment of Status.   If you still have valid R-1 (or other employment visa) status you can continue to work as long as that status is valid.  Once the non-immigrant status has ended, you must stop working unless the new employment authorization has been approved.  It has been taking between four and eight months to get employment authorization.

Travel authorization is also taking about the same period of time.  Unless you are in valid H-1 or L-1 status, after you file for Adjustment of Status, you should not travel until you get travel permission.   To be honest, I recommend that you don’t travel if you can help it — but sometimes people need to travel — especially when the processing times are so long.

Finally, when they have finished processing your application for Adjustment of Status, they may call you in for an interview or they may just mail you your new green card.  They are supposed to interview more applicants and definitely they are supposed to interview all married candidates, but they do not always do that.

Now, if when the I-360 is approved you have already left the US, or if you were never here, you will need to complete consular processing.  That means that you will file for an immigrant visa at the U.S. consulate (or embassy) overseeing the location where you live.  You have to upload documents to the National Visa Center (NVC) web portal and fill out an on-line visa application and pay the filing fees on-line.   Dealing with the NVC is a somewhat frustrating process, but it has to be done.   Then, when they have finally accepted all the documents that you have uploaded, they will schedule you and your family for an interview.  This whole process can take as little as two or three months — but it can easily stretch out to six months or more.  But, once you pass your interview, you get your visa and can then come to the U.S.   Once you pass customs, you become a lawful permanent resident, and they will mail you your green card.

I hope this is interesting and helpful. Remember that this is not legal advice. It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation. I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

 

Applying for a Visa, R-1 visa

Preparing to apply for an R-1 Visa at a Consulate

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So you have your R-1 petition approval?  What is next?  If you are outside of the U.S., you need to apply for an R-1 visa at your nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.   If you are in the U.S., and you want to travel, you will need to go to an U.S. Embassy or Consulate to get an R-1 visa before you return to the U.S.

In January I wrote about applying for a visa at a Consulate.   Now we will discuss the particular considerations that you need to have if you are applying for an R visa.  But first I want to discuss whether or not you should apply for an R visa.

Of course, if you were out of the US when your sponsoring/employing organization filed the petition, you need an R-1 visa in order to come to the U.S.  You don’t have a choice.    However, if you changed status to R-1, or extended your R-1 status, then you need to decide if you want to take the risk of filing for an R visa — the same considerations apply whether you are the primary R-1 applicant or an R-2 dependent.

What I am talking about is that it is becoming increasingly risky to leave the US to apply for an R visa.    I am not sure exactly why.  I think that there has been increased pressure for the consulates to “vet” the visa applications.   It used to be that an R visa denial was very rare.  Now, it is not uncommon.   A number of the denials, in fact were based on improper reasons, and I would get conflicting answers when I requested explanations.  And now, the US Department of State has even changed the rules for approving R visas.  It used to be that they were supposed to treat the USCIS Approval as binding unless they find something that the USCIS didn’t know about — but now they have more freedom to question the approval itself.   And I have been seeing an increased amount of questions that reflect what the consulate staff wants to see and not what the statute requires.   For example, the position may not require a theological education, but the consulate officer may ask the visa applicant why they don’t have a theological education.

The other problem is that the consulates seem to be increasingly strict about making sure that the position pays enough to cover the visa applicant’s needs.  The R statute and regulations are quite flexible on income — it doesn’t have a minimum, it just requires compensation.   I deal with a lot of m-ssionaries who have quite low incomes, and I have been always able to get approvals for them.   However, lately, some consulates have been more demanding in this regard to income as well.

I am not saying that you should not apply for an R visa.   Most of my clients still get their visa applications approved.   What I am saying is that it is more risky than it used to be, and I recommend only applying for a visa if absolutely necessary.    It would be sad to spend all that effort and money to get an approval from the USCIS only to lose it all because of a denial at the consulate.   Once the consulate denies you, you will not be able to come back to the US in  R status unless you can convince them to change their mind — which is very difficult.

Now, back to what you need to do.   Last week I discussed the general outline of applying for a visa.   Now, I will briefly discuss what you need for an R visa.  In general, it is the same as what I wrote last week.   The additions are that you need a letter from your R-1 employer confirming that the terms of the R-1 petition are still in effect and that you will begin working with the R-1 employer as soon as you enter the US in R status.   If you have already been working for the R-1 employer, you should bring proof that you have been paid.

You also need to be ready to discuss you’re the nature of your R-1 employment — what the job requirements are (education, work experience, etc.), and the religious nature of the employment.   If there are educational or experience requirements you will need to have proof that you completed these requirements.  It is very important that you are able to explain the r-ligious nature of the position if it is not a typical m-nister or m-ssionary position.   I have been able to get R-1s for a variety of positions that are not what you would necessarily think of being “r-ligious” positions.   These are positions that are typically “secular”, but in this case have a strong “r-ligious” emphasis.  Too often, my clients just want to say, I will be a teacher or mechanic or a video editor or a camp director.   You cannot get an R visa for being a teacher or mechanic or a video editor or a camp director.  You can only get an R visa for being a r-ligious worker.   You need to explain how your position is r-ligious — how you will be teaching r-ligious subjects or teaching them in a way that emphasizes G-d’s truths, or, as a mechanic or camp director, working with students or young people to mentor them sp-ritually as they work with you or attend the programs at your camp or how you will use your editing skills to produce videos that communicate the truths of the B-ble.

You also need to be able to explain what the compensation is that you will be receiving.   Sometimes this is simple — if you will be receiving a regular paycheck.   But if it is food and housing that your employer will be providing to you, you need to be able to explain that to them.  Many times, people come to the US as m-ssionaries on a B visa and they are given room and food to allow them to stay here and serve.   That is not compensation.   But, when a person is here on an R visa, that becomes compensation.   That can be confusing, but it is an important distinction.

In summary, most people with R approvals from the USCIS will get their R visas.   However, you need to be prepared.   The R Visa interview can be difficult and you need to be ready to discuss the most common issues that may come up.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

757 Appleton Road, Elkton, MD 21921

Gunnar.L.Armstrong@gmail.com