Religious workers can no longer adjust status without approval of immigrant petition

Wednesday, 25 August 2010 22:21 Atty. Dennis Chua, Esq.

Religiousworkers such as ministers, priests and pastors can obtain permanent residency in the United States once their religious organizations file a special immigrant petition for them. To qualify under the special immigrant rules, the religious worker must be a member of the religious denomination for at least two years prior to the filing of the petition. The religious worker must also have been engaged in the work for which they are applying for at least two years prior to the filing of the petition.

To complete the permanent residency process, the religious worker must file for an application for adjustment of status changing his/her current status (which is usually a non-immigrant R1 religious worker visa) to that of permanent resident status.

Religious workers were allowed to file an application for adjustment of status at the same time their religious organizations file the special immigrant petitions for them. However, this has changed with the recent decision rendered by the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in the case of Ruiz-Diaz vs. US. In Ruiz-Diaz, the Court held that religious workers can no longer file a concurrent application for adjustment of status together with the Special Immigrant Petition filed for them. They would have to wait for their Special Immigrant Petitions to be approved before they can file for an application for adjustment of status.

This ruling is significant especially for those religious workers who are in R1 non-immigrant status. Religious workers in R1 status can only stay in the country for a maximum period of five years. If a religious worker has reached his fifth year and his special immigrant petition is still pending, he can no longer continue working in the United States and must leave the country so as not to accrue unlawful presence. Generally, a religious worker who has accrued unlawful presence in the country will no longer be able to file for an application for adjustment of status. Prior to the decision of the Court of Appeals in Ruiz-Diaz, a religious worker can still stay in the country even though his special immigrant petition is still pending so long as he files for an application for adjustment of status. With this recent ruling of the Court of

Appeals, religious organizations must plan ahead and file their Special Immigrant Petitions long before the religious worker reaches his fifth year under his R1 visa. Despite the recent Court of Appeals ruling in Ruiz-Diaz, religious workers can still file their applications for adjustment of status together with their special immigrant petition until October 11, 2010. This is the date when the Decision of the Court of Appeals will take effect with the issuance of its mandate.

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Atty. Dennis E. Chua is a partner in The Law Firm of Chua Tinsay and Vega (CTV), a full service law firm with offices in San Francisco, San Diego and Manila. The information presented in this article is for general information only and is not, nor intended to be, formal legal advice nor the formation of an attorney-client relationship. Call or e-mail CTV for an in-person or phone consultation to discuss your particular situation and/or how their services may be retained at (415) 495-8088; (619) 955-6277; This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . The CTV Attorneys will be at Max’s Restaurant in Vallejo on October 19, 2009 from 5pm to 7pm to hold a FREE legal clinic.

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( Published August 26, 2010 in Asian Journal Northern California p. B5 )