EB4 Visa
EB4 Green Card For Religious Workers
The United States needs Religious workers. Places of worship and preaching need leaders and workers to keep believers united under their organization. An EB4 visa is a visa category issued to religious workers of foreign nationality. The religious workers enter the United States as skilled or professional workers to work for their religious organization.
You may be eligible for an EB4 green card if you are a Religious Worker. You may immigrate to the U.S. if you are a minister or non-minister in religious vocations and occupations to perform religious work in a full-time paid position. The religious organization, as your employer, is the petitioner for your EB4 green card for religious worker.
EB4 Visa
The EB4 visa is an employment-based, visa category for “special immigrants” and religious workers.
- Religious worker
- Broadcasters
- Iraqi and Afghan translators
- Iraqis who have provided aid to the U.S.
- Employees of an International Organization
- Members of Armed Forces
- Employees of the Panama Canal
- Physicians
- Retired employees of NATO-6
- If NATO-6 employee is deceased, spouse and children are still eligible
EB4 Religious Worker Requirements
The law has very specific requirements to qualify for an EB4 Religious Worker green card. To qualify as an EB4 religious worker, you must prove:
That you have been a member of a religious denomination that has a bona fide non-profit religious organization in the United States for at least 2-years immediately before the filing of a petition with USCIS.
That you seek to enter the United States to work in a full-time, compensated position in one of the following occupations:
- Solely as a minister of that religious denomination;
- A religious vocation either in a professional or nonprofessional capacity; or
- A religious occupation either in a professional or nonprofessional capacity.
That you are coming to work for either:
- A bona fide non-profit religious organization in the United States; or
- A bona fide organization that is affiliated with the religious denomination in the United States.
That you have been working in one of the positions described above after the age of 14, either abroad or in the United States, continuously for at least 2-years immediately before the filing of a petition with USCIS. The prior religious work needs not to correspond precisely to the type of work to be performed. A break in the continuity of the work during the preceding two years will not affect eligibility so long as:
- You were still employed as a religious worker
- The break did not exceed 2 years; and
- The nature of the break was for additional religious training or for a sabbatical. However, you must have been a member of the petitioner’s denomination throughout the 2 years of qualifying employment
EB4 Religious Worker Application Process
To apply for an EB4 religious worker green card, the petitioner must submit form I-360 to USCIS with the government fees and the evidence of the EB4 qualifications. A PERM (Labor Certification) is not required. In addition, the petitioner must submit adequate proof that the religious organization is a non-profit organization and complies with all federal, state and local laws and regulations. Once the Form I-360 is approved and the visa becomes available, the religious worker can apply for the green card.
If the applicant is in the United States, he or she can apply for Adjustment of Status (green card) with USCIS. This is a separate process that ultimately gives the applicant and eligible family members a green card. The EB4 green card allows the applicant and eligible family member to live and work legally in the United States.
Religious Worker Consular Process
If the applicant is outside the United States, the applicant and his or her family will go through the Consular Process. Consular Process requires the applicant and eligible family member to appear at the American Consulate or Embassy located abroad for a visa interview. If everything is done correctly, the applicant and family members will receive an immigrant visa stamped on their passports. This EB4 visa allows them to enter the United States as immigrants (green card holders).
What Members of My Family Can Get an EB4 Green Card?
The EB4 green card allows the applicant’s eligible family members to also immigrate to the United States. Eligible family members are spouses and unmarried children under 21 years old.
How Immigration Universe Partners Help
Our immigration attorneys have experience with EB4 visa petitions. We assist petitioners and applicants throughout the entire immigration process. We ensure that all legal requirements are met with the best evidence.
Let’s talk about your immigration case. Contact us and speak with an immigration lawyer.