Impending consequences: Visa programme for religious in the USA comes to an end

The countdown is on. If Congress does not act at the last minute, a regulation that has brought religious and other members of religious communities to the USA for more than three decades will end on Thursday. According to the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the end of the so-called "EB-4 Non-Minister Special Immigration Religious Workers Visa" programme will have consequences for the Catholic Church in the USA.

"The consequences will be far-reaching," said David Spicer, responsible for immigration issues at the Bishops' Conference, to the portal "The Pillar". The current visa system distinguishes between two types of EB-4 visas: visas for ordained and non-ordained persons. Priests and deacons fall into the first category; religious fall into the second. It is precisely those visas in the second category that are now at risk. According to Spicer, the Catholic Church represents the largest group of non-ordained persons in the visa programme.

Catholics particularly affected

The programme, which grants 5,000 visas a year to non-ordained persons, not only enables temporary residence, but also offers a pathway to permanent residency and later citizenship. Due to the special role of religious congregations in their church , US Catholics would be particularly affected by the expiry of the programme. The situation in rural dioceses could prove to be particularly difficult in the future.

Spicer illustrates the impending consequences with an example from Alaska. He tells of a religious superior who had to leave her community and the country because she was unable to renew her residence permit in time. "In a federal state where the geographical size of the dioceses makes pastoral care difficult anyway, foreign religious are often the only way to reach the Catholics who live far apart."

Before leaving the White House, former US President Joe Biden had extended the visa programme by three months until 13 March. Unless there is a last-minute intervention, non-consecrated persons will no longer be able to enter the country. The State Department has already made it unmistakably clear that no more visas will be issued abroad after midnight. Current applications for adjustment of status will also no longer be processed.

The situation is exacerbated by the already existing backlog in the issuing of visas. Applicants who have been waiting for years could be left empty-handed. "We could see an extremely unfortunate situation where someone has been waiting in the EB-4 backlog, is classified as a noncitizen - and at the very moment the green card is within reach, the programme is no longer available," said Spicer.

Bottlenecks in social institutions

The effects of ending the programme would extend far beyond pastoral care and could lead to supply bottlenecks in Catholic social institutions. The range of activities carried out by visa holders is diverse: they care for the sick, elderly and dying in hospitals and care facilities, are involved in youth work, teach in Catholic schools and take on management and administrative tasks in Catholic religious orders and institutions.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is pinning its hopes on the ongoing negotiations on the interim budget in Congress. "God willing, the programme could be extended," says Spicer. However, the political conditions in Washington are not exactly favourable at the moment.