I have mostly been writing about coming to the US as a m-ssionary in R-1 status.   There is another option.  However, I think that it is a difficult option to work with.   That option is the H-1b.   The H-1b is a temporary option for professional employees to come to the US — usually this would be positions that require a college education.  The advantage of the H-1b is that it usually doesn’t have as much paperwork involved.  You don’t need to prove two-years membership in a denomination.   You usually don’t need to provide all the information that is required for an R-1 about the employing m-nistry and the nature of the employment and all the information about the job.  You don’t have to submit as much evidence showing that the employer really needs the R-1 employee and you don’t have to prove that it is a “r-ligious” job.  Therefore, the H-1b would be available for m-ssionary jobs that are not so “r-ligious” but can still very much be “m-ssionary” service — such as accountants or computer IT workers.  I have obtained R-1s for many people in widely varying (not obviously r-ligious) areas of service — but I have drawn the line at accountants.  I have not been able to come up with a realistic argument for how being an accountant is a “r-ligious” occupation.

However, there are a number of reasons why an H-1b is often not the best fit for most people who would normally be applying for R-1 status or an R-1 visa.  The first is the money.   There are a number of significant filing fees that must be paid by the employing entityand the attorney must be hired by the employing entity.  Also, the wages that must be paid are, to a certain degree, set by the government.   The Department of Labor has decided what the minimum levels of income are that can be paid to an H-1b employee, and these tend to be significantly higher than what would be paid to most m-ssionaries — sometimes as much as twice as high or more.  Another disadvantage of H-1bs is that there is a limited number of them (and usually there are more people who want them than can have them).  This results in a high proportion of H-1b applications being returned unaccepted.  Finally, due to the way the H-1b process works, most new H-1b employees must start after September 30 of the year they are approved.   This could cause delay for people who otherwise would not need to wait that long.

The other major issue is the college degree.   The H-1b is only available if the position requires a bachelor’s degree and if the job applicant has a bachelor’s degree.   In other words, if the church requires a pastor who has a college degree then an H-1b could work.  But if your ministry needs a receptionist, you can’t use the H-1b because the USCIS will say that most receptionists don’t need college degrees.

Sometimes an H-1b would work.   Your ministry needs an accountant or a director or a college professor or an agricultural engineer for your ministry’s ranch or farm and you pay a reasonably high amount and you want to bring one from abroad — you can use the H-1b.   But, for most other types of positions, the R-1 will probably work better.  Some churches pay their pastors well enough to qualify for the H-1b, but even there it might be easier to bring a pastor through the R-1 program.   The R-1 requires more documentation, but it is more flexible and you can probably bring the pastor sooner —- and you don’t have to worry about being rejected simply because there are too many applicants for the 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 consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong