R-1 visa

[Elove 1]

I have a question on the R-1 visas. I am already here in the USA , my spouse has a pending asylum  case ,I do have a work permit expiring in 2 years .I am an evangelist and my church want to sponsor an R-1 visa for me. Do I lose my current work permit? Any one with some knowledge on how these really works ? Please help . 

[Boiler 45,783]

Work Permit does not really mean much, which visa did you enter on.

[Elove 1]

3 hours ago, Boiler said:

Work Permit does not really mean much, which visa did you enter on.

Came with spouse. Pending asylum case . Let me expand,My line of reasoning is this , if my church petitions for me and I get approved , with the R-1 visa, you allowed to work just for the religious organization that petitioned for you. That is where the work permit question comes in , what happens to the work permit I currently have? Does it get cancelled ? Does it continue to be valid ? 

[Boiler 45,783]

There are so many issues here, Just start with one. R1 is a non immigrant visa, you have applied for asylum which does suggest immigrant intent.

 

Freebie second, takes some time to get EAD so difficult to believe you are still in status.

[Elove 1]

12 minutes ago, Boiler said:

There are so many issues here, Just start with one. R1 is a non immigrant visa, you have applied for asylum which does suggest immigrant intent.

 

Freebie second, takes some time to get EAD so difficult to believe you are still in status.

Well maybe you are choosing to answer a different question than I am asking . Will wait to hear from others who might have more knowledge in the subject. Thank you . 

[jan22 3,056]

Why do you need/want an R-1 to work for the church?  You can work for them right now with your current work permit.  Is tbere something in your asylum case so it makes sense to change to a more restrictive status where you can only work one place?  (No need to answer these questions -- just posing them for you to think about).

 

It may be a moot point, however.  Do you have an unexpired non-immigrant status (an unexpired I-94 from your entry into the US)?  If not, you cannot apply for a change of status.  With the asylum application, you may be in a period of authorized stay while waiting for the case to be processed,, but it doesn't grant you a specific status unless the status granted at your initial entry into the US is still valid (for example, an entry as a tourist).  You need to be in status to apply to change that status.  And, getting an approved change of starus is what it would take for you to get R-1 status.  That is unless you choose to leave the US to apply for an R-1 visa, which would then be denied because you have immigrant intent (and possibly an ineligibility for overstaying your last US entry). 

 

My suggestion, if you want to work for the church, is to do so on your current work permit.  If you are planning to use the R-1 as the stepping stone to getting a special immigrant religious-worker-based green card, please note that you do not have to be working in R-1 status for the church to file the I-360 petition for you. It requires two years of religious work experience, but you do not need for those two years to be under R-1 status, as long as the work you do meets the requirements of the religious worker category.  See the Checklist for Religious Workers on the USCIS website: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/checklist-of-required-initial-evidence-for-form-i-360-for-informational-purposes-only for more information.

[Elove 1]

On 2/24/2022 at 10:27 AM, jan22 said:

Why do you need/want an R-1 to work for the church?  You can work for them right now with your current work permit.  Is tbere something in your asylum case so it makes sense to change to a more restrictive status where you can only work one place?  (No need to answer these questions -- just posing them for you to think about).

 

It may be a moot point, however.  Do you have an unexpired non-immigrant status (an unexpired I-94 from your entry into the US)?  If not, you cannot apply for a change of status.  With the asylum application, you may be in a period of authorized stay while waiting for the case to be processed,, but it doesn't grant you a specific status unless the status granted at your initial entry into the US is still valid (for example, an entry as a tourist).  You need to be in status to apply to change that status.  And, getting an approved change of starus is what it would take for you to get R-1 status.  That is unless you choose to leave the US to apply for an R-1 visa, which would then be denied because you have immigrant intent (and possibly an ineligibility for overstaying your last US entry). 

 

My suggestion, if you want to work for the church, is to do so on your current work permit.  If you are planning to use the R-1 as the stepping stone to getting a special immigrant religious-worker-based green card, please note that you do not have to be working in R-1 status for the church to file the I-360 petition for you. It requires two years of religious work experience, but you do not need for those two years to be under R-1 status, as long as the work you do meets the requirements of the religious worker category.  See the Checklist for Religious Workers on the USCIS website: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/filing-guidance/checklist-of-required-initial-evidence-for-form-i-360-for-informational-purposes-only for more information.

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation, I didn’t know about the I-360 petition, thanks for enlightening me on that. 
A follow up question , can I file for the I-360 as a special immigrant (I am the church minister) from USA or I am required to leave the states and file from abroad ? 

By the way; my husband is the one with a pending asylum case. I have been working as a minister for close to 5 years now here in the states. 
thanks 

[jan22 3,056]

4 hours ago, Elove said:

Thank you so much for the detailed explanation, I didn’t know about the I-360 petition, thanks for enlightening me on that. 
A follow up question , can I file for the I-360 as a special immigrant (I am the church minister) from USA or I am required to leave the states and file from abroad ? 

By the way; my husband is the one with a pending asylum case. I have been working as a minister for close to 5 years now here in the states. 
thanks 

I understood it was your husband's asylum claim -- but assumed your status in the US was tied to his (i.e., that you were a derivative on his aslyum application).  The I-360 can be filed by your employer (while you can file yourself, someone usually don't file on their own -- the employer does, since they have to supply documentation for the petition anyway) while you are in the US.  Whether you can adjust status to EB-4 without leaving the US, however, depends on your current status.

Edited March 2, 2022 by jan22