PROSPECT HEIGHTS — For the past two years, foreign-born priests and religious were told to prepare to leave the United States if their temporary work visas expired before receiving their green cards.
This situation resulted from a sudden backlog in applications for Employment-Based, Fourth Preference (EB-4) visas, also known as green cards.
Consequently, some foreign-born religious workers of numerous denominations, including Roman Catholic, are facing disruptions of their U.S.-based ministries. Among them are as many as 20 men and women currently serving in the Diocese of Brooklyn.
Congress, however, might have a solution.
If signed into law, the Religious Workforce Protection Act (RWPA) would allow more flexibility for priests and religious brothers and sisters from other countries to obtain their green cards.
That’s welcome news for Bishop Robert Brennan.
“We rely on the ministry of priests and religious from other countries to meet our many sacramental and pastoral needs here in Brooklyn and Queens,” he said in a statement to The Tablet. “I am deeply grateful for their service, and count on Congress to find a legislative remedy to the current dilemma.”
RELATED: Foreign-Born Priests and Nuns, Lacking Green Cards, May Have to Leave the US
The problem surfaced in March 2023 when the U.S. Department of State announced an administrative change-up to shift EB-4 applications for “Special Immigrant Juveniles” (SIJ) to the workload of officials handling green-card requests of religious workers.
The United States created SIJ protection in 1990 for foreign-born people under age 21 who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent. In 2014, there was a dramatic surge in SIJ applications for unaccompanied youths from Latin American countries entering the U.S. at
the border with Mexico.
However, the administrative shift in 2023 swamped State Department workers with an influx of EB-4 applications from SIJs. This created a new backlog of unprocessed green card applications. Meanwhile, many temporary “R-1” visas, which are capped at five years, began to expire.
RELATED: Fordham, Notre Dame Look To Support Foreign Students Amid Trump Visa Crackdown
Additionally, according to an “action alert” from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, individuals in this situation “must depart the United States for at least one year before possibly returning on a subsequent R-1 visa.”
The USCCB further stated that “this backlog means a priest or other worker who applies today will be forced to wait more than a decade before being able to receive permanent residency in the United States.”
However, under the RWPA, those already in the U.S. on an R-1 visa would be able to stay for renewable three-year periods until they get their green cards, according to the USCCB.
In addition, the bill would retroactively apply to those who have been forced to leave the United States prior to its enactment. Versions of the RWPA were introduced during the first week of April in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. These bills, as of June 20, were under review in the judiciary committees of both chambers.
RELATED: USCCB President, Bishops Stand With Immigrants ‘In This Challenging Hour’
The legislation was applauded by top bishops — Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the USCCB and archbishop of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services, and Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration.
“We would not be able to serve our diverse flocks, which reflect the rich tapestry of our society overall, without the faithful men and women who come to serve through the Religious Worker Visa Program,” they said in a joint statement in early April.
Dioceses throughout the U.S. have long relied on foreign-born priests and religious to help offset increasingly fewer vocations, with an estimated 6,600 priests and 4,000 religious sisters serve dioceses throughout the U.S., according to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. Diocese of Brooklyn records show 136 of the local foreign-born priests are diocesan and 98 are non-incardinated.
RELATED: A Beacon of Hope Amidst Immigration Policy Change
Meanwhile, records show that there are 63 foreign-born religious. “I suspect the number 15-20 was over the next couple of years,” Bishop Brennan said of local religious workers who don’t yet have their green cards. “There are a few who have left, including those from religious orders.”
Sister Maryann Seton Lopiccolo, episcopal delegate for religious in the Diocese of Brooklyn, confirmed that, so far, three sisters — from Colombia, Nigeria, and Ghana — who worked in nursing homes had to leave the U.S. because of this situation.
“It’s a burden on everyone,” she said. “It’s a burden on the patients because they don’t have as many hands on deck. It’s a burden on the institution because now they have fewer people to cover shifts.”
In their joint letter, Archbishop Broglio and Bishop Seitz called on all members of Congress to pass the RWPA. Likewise, Bishop Brennan urged local Catholics to add their voices in advocating for the legislation.
“It seems to have wide support,” he said of the RWPA. “People from the diocese can assist by writing to their representatives in the House and Senate, expressing their gratitude for the ministry of the priests from other countries serving here, and urging support for this bipartisan bill.”