THIS IS A 'NO-BRAINER'

NYSCC urges New Yorkers to tell Congress to pass Religious Workforce Protection Act

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington Aug. 13, 2025. With Congress having returned from its August recess, a government shutdown looms at the end of September. (OSV News photo/Elizabeth Frantz, Reuters) (Courtesy photo of Elizabeth Frantz)

The New York State Catholic Conference is urging Catholics to write to Congress asking them to pass the Religious Workforce Protection Act (RWPA).

Catholic parishes, hospitals, schools and other ministries are facing a staffing crisis caused by federal policy, as foreign-born priests, religious sisters and brothers get caught up in the bureaucratic red tape of our broken immigration system. A bipartisan bill has been introduced in Congress to address the issue, making it easier for religious workers here legally on temporary visas to remain in the country until they can get a green card. Currently, because of a backlog in applications for the specific permanent visas these individuals need, many are forced to leave the country for a year, leaving our ministries unstaffed and our Catholic people without access to sacraments and spiritual care.

“Although immigration is a polarizing issue in our country, this is an example of a no-brainer that both Democrats and Republicans should be able to support,” said Dennis Poust, executive director of the New York State Catholic Conference. “Religious vocations in this country have been in decline across denominations for many years, while in some parts of the world they are thriving. Without these foreign-born religious men and women, it would be difficult or impossible to adequately serve our people. While the Church in the United States once sent forth thousands of missionaries across the world, we have now become mission territory ourselves! These priests, religious sisters and brothers not only staff our parishes, but also serve in chaplaincies in hospitals and prisons, teach in our schools, and serve in myriad other ways."

The RWPA is urgently needed to ensure people of faith can continue to be served by foreign-born religious workers, who came to his country legally on temporary nonimmigrant religious worker (R-1) visas. These workers ultimately need to receive a green card via the employment-based, fourth preference (EB-4) visa in order to remain in the United States long-term. Because of the significant backlog in EB-4 visa applications, the services that these religious workers provide are threatened. 

The RWPA is a simple, targeted measure that would provide relief to workers and their employers, without increasing the number of people permitted to immigrate into the United States. Under the legislation, those R-1 visa-holding religious workers who have applied for adjustment in their status would be able to remain in the country in their current nonimmigrant status for renewable three-year periods until they are able to receive a green card. This would allow them to continue to provide their essential services to your constituents without interruption. Under current policy, these men and women are forced to depart the United States and abandon their ministries for at least one year before being eligible to return on a new R-1 visa, creating hardships for the families they serve. Importantly, the RWPA would apply retroactively to individuals who already have been forced to depart the United States and currently remain subject to the one-year pause.

Catholics are asked to write to their members of Congress via the Catholic Action Network, using the prewritten, editable message at https://bit.ly/pass-rwpa.