DHS Issues Major Update for R-1 Religious Workers: What Faith-Based Organizations Need to Know After the Five-Year Maximum Stay

On January 16, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published an interim final rule, “Improving Continuity for Religious Organizations and Their Employees,” that changes what happens after an R-1 religious worker reaches the maximum five-year period of stay in the U.S.. The update is intended to reduce disruptions for U.S. religious organizations that rely on R-1 Religious Workers, particularly in light of lengthy EB-4 green card backlogs. 

What Changed: DHS Removes the One-Year Abroad Waiting Period 

Under the prior regulations, an R-1 religious worker who reached the maximum five-year period of stay generally had to leave the United States and remain abroad for a full year before becoming eligible to return in R-1 status. This “cooling-off” period often forced clergy and other religious workers to remain outside the United States even when the sponsoring organization urgently needed continuity in services and leadership. 

Under the new rule, DHS eliminates the mandatory one-year abroad requirement. An R-1 worker must still depart the United States upon reaching the five-year maximum, but there is no longer a minimum amount of time the worker must remain outside the country before applying for a new R-1 visa and seeking readmission in R-1 status, assuming the worker otherwise qualifies. 

Why This Matters: Continuity and Stability for Faith Communities 

This change addresses one of the most disruptive aspects of the R-1 framework: 

• Minimizes service gaps: Congregations, parishes, mosques, temples, and faith-based nonprofits often struggled to maintain continuity in leadership and services when experienced clergy had to remain abroad for a year. Eliminating the waiting period helps reduce these interruptions.  

• Improves planning flexibility: Religious employers can coordinate transitions and consular processing with less risk of a prolonged, mandatory absence. 

• Responds to visa backlogs: Backlogs in the employment-based fourth preference (EB-4) category (the pathway many religious workers use to seek permanent residence) have stretched wait times well past the R-1 maximum stay. While this rule doesn’t solve the EB-4 backlog itself, it eases a related regulatory burden that compounded the problem.  

Faith leaders and advocates have welcomed the change, calling it a practical step to support essential ministry work and reduce unnecessary disruptions to communities that rely on foreign-born religious workers.  

What Remains the Same 

There are a few important limitations to keep in mind: 

• Five-year statutory limit is unchanged: R-1 status still caps out at five years. Workers must depart the United States once they reach this limit. 

• Other eligibility requirements apply: Return in R-1 status still requires satisfying all standard qualifications for the visa, including bona fide non-profit religious organization sponsorship and the nature of the religious work. 

• Green card timing remains a challenge: This rule doesn’t expand EB-4 visa availability or shorten permanent residence wait times; many applicants still face long queues before an immigrant visa becomes available.  

Important Travel and Visa Issuance Considerations 

This rule offers meaningful flexibility, but it is not a one-step “extension” beyond five years. R-1 workers who reach the five-year maximum must still depart the United States and generally must apply for a new R-1 visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before returning. 

Two critical issues should be considered before making travel plans: 

1. Visa applications must generally be made in the worker’s country of nationality or residence.
   In most cases, religious workers are expected to apply for a new R-1 visa at a U.S. consulate in their country of citizenship or nationality. This means the worker’s country of nationality often controls where and whether a visa can be issued. 
2. Visa issuance restrictions remain in place for certain nationalities.
   At this time, the U.S. government maintains immigrant visa pauses, nonimmigrant visa restrictions, and/or travel bans affecting nationals of certain countries. For individuals subject to these restrictions, U.S. consulates may be unable to issue new visas, even if the applicant is otherwise fully eligible for R-1 classification. 

As a result, certain religious workers who depart the United States after reaching the five-year limit may face delays or an inability to return due to current visa issuance policies affecting their country of nationality. It is critical to speak with an immigration attorney before making any plans to depart the U.S. 

Practical Steps for Religious Employers 

1. Review R-1 expiration planning: If you have workers nearing the five-year limit, coordinate their departure and re-entry timing now that the one-year abroad requirement is gone.
2.  Travel Strategy and Considerations: 
   1. Confirm whether any visa issuance restrictions, consular backlogs, or processing limitations may affect the worker’s country of nationality or residence. 
      1. For example, as of January 2026, there is a full suspension of visa issuance issuance to nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa categories. 
   2.  Evaluate consular processing risks before the worker departs the United States, including timing and contingency planning. 
   3. Plan travel strategically, especially for workers nearing the five-year maximum 
   4. Consult immigration counsel in advance to assess whether departure could trigger a prolonged separation based on the worker’s circumstances and current consular conditions.
3.  Continue green card strategies: Work with immigration counsel to plan EB-4 and any alternative permanent residence options. The removal of the one-year abroad rule can help with continuity, but it does not resolve the underlying EB-4 backlog.
4. Document eligibility thoroughly: As always, maintain strong evidence of your organization’s nonprofit status and the religious nature of the job duties for any R-1 petition. 

Contact the attorneys at MMH for guidance on R-1 Religious Workers