In my last post I wrote out the requirements to be an R-1 petitioner.   Now I will describe the petitioning process. It is a very complex process.  I strongly recommend hiring an attorney to help you — there are a lot of aspects which seem obvious, but are not.  Remember that only the employer can petition.

You start with the I-129 Petition.   The I-129 petition is designed to support a variety of types of non-immigrant worker visas.   The first section of the form will relate to almost all of the visas.  Then, the second part of the form has various parts that are specific to the various types of visas.   You will only fill out the part relating to the R-1.

Then you will need supporting documentation.    You need documentation establishing that you qualify as a R-1 petitioner.  This would involve establishing that you exist, that you have a r*ligious purpose and function, that you have a need to hire an R-1 worker, and that you have the income and ability to pay the offered wage.    Organizational documents, deeds and leases, IRS tax exemption documentation, website pages, brochures, pictures of the ministry and the location, membership lists, IRS Form 990, budgets and income/expense statements are all examples of useful documentation.

The second area where you will need documentation is to show that the job is a r*ligious job.   Job descriptions, a letter from the employer, denominational documents describing the position, and a sample weekly schedule are examples of relevant documents for this issue.

You will need to show that the job applicant qualifies for the position and the status.   First off, you will need to show that he has been a member of the r*ligious denomination for two years.   Membership rolls, letters from prior churches, baptism certificates can all be helpful here.  Next, depending on the requirements of the position, you may need a resume, college transcripts and diplomas, and letters from previous employers.

If this is an extension and the applicant is currently here in R-1 status, you will want to include tax returns and W-2 forms and pay records.

Finally, you will also need to include evidence that the applicant is currently in status (if he is here in the US) and also show that he has been in legal status if he was in the US before.

A couple of other points to remember.   The check for the filing fees should come from the employer.   It is best if the employer pays for the attorney and pays the filing fee.   There is no specific prohibition (at least no written prohibition) on the applicant paying both the attorney fees and the filing fee, but I recommend against it.  They will sometimes ask who paid the filing fee (and maybe who paid the attorneys fee) if they do a site visit.

It generally takes five to six months to get an R petition approved.   If the petitioner has already had a site visit by the USCIS the petitioner can request Premium Processing for an extra $1,410.   If the Premium Processing Request is approved, they will adjudicate the R-1 petition in 15 days (they will either approve it, deny it or ask for more evidence).    Often, they will deny the Premium Processing Request, which just means that they return the check and the Premium Processing Request and then use the regular 6-month process to adjudicate the R petition.   Just so you know, I have experienced a number of Premium Processing Request refusals — stating that there is no valid site visit, when there clearly was one.  I don’t know if their records are incomplete — or if the reviewing officer entered the name or address incorrectly, or they are too busy and just are looking for an excuse to reject the request.  Sometimes, if they do a site visit during the process, I have submitted Premium Processing Requests after the site visit and those requests have been successful.

Once the petition is approved, the USCIS will send the approval notice to the petitioner.  If the applicant is in the US, the approval notice will include an I-94 form authorizing the job applicant to stay here in R status.  If he is not in the US, the petition approval notice will have a portion on the bottom which the job applicant can take to his local US consulate/embassy and request the issuance of an R-1 visa.

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 consulate an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong