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Trump admin drops one-year wait for R-1 religious workers seeking return

January 19, 2026 - from JNS:

"The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued an interim final rule removing a long-standing requirement that R-1 religious workers remain outside the United States for one year after reaching the maximum period of stay before returning in R-1 status.

"The R-1 visa is a temporary U.S. visa that allows foreign religious workers, including clergy and religious educators, to work for nonprofit religious organizations in the United States.

"The rule, titled Improving Continuity for Religious Organizations and Their Employees, took effect on Jan. 16, according to a notice in the Federal Register. It is a step meant to “minimize disruptions to the vital services that nonimmigrant religious workers provide to U.S. churches, mosques, synagogues and other religious organizations.”

"Agudath Israel of America also urged Congress to pass the bipartisan Religious Workforce Protection Act, which “would eliminate the need for individuals on an R-1 visa to leave the US at all while further strengthening protections for people of faith in the workforce."