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1 (September 30, 2003)

handle is hein.crs/crsaihq0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS21630 September 30, 2003 Immigration of Religious Workers: Background and Legislation Ruth Ellen Wasem Specialist in Social Legislation Domestic Social Policy Division Summary A provision in immigration law that allows for the admission of immigrants to perform religious work is scheduled to sunset on September 30, 2003. Although the provision has a broad base of support, some have expressed concern that the provision is vulnerable to fraud. The foreign religious worker must be a member of a religious denomination that has a bonafide nonprofit, religious organization in the United States, and must have been in the religious vocation, professional work, or other religious work continuously for at least 2 years. Bills (H.R. 2152/S. 1580) to extend the religious worker provision through September 30, 2008, have been introduced in both chambers. The House passed H.R. 2152 on September 17, 2003. This report will be updated as legislative activity warrants. Introduction Permanent legal immigration to the United States is regulated by a set of numerical limits and systems of preference categories delineated in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and employment-based immigration comprises one of the major groups of the preference category systems.1 Aliens who come to the United States through the permanent legal immigration categories are commonly known as legal permanent residents (LPRs). The fourth category of the employment-based preference system is known as special immigrants, and the largest number of special immigrants are ministers of religion and religious workers.2 Religious workers are treated separately from ministers of religion and are limited to 5,000 immigrants annually. Accompanying 1 The largest preference grouping is family-based immigration. Other groupings include diversity and humanitarian admissions. For more information, see CRS Report RS20916, Immigration and Naturalization Fundamentals, by Ruth Ellen Wasem. 2 Other special immigrants include certain employees of the U.S. government abroad, Panama Canal employees, retired employees of international organizations, certain aliens who served in the U.S. armed forces, and certain aliens declared a ward of a juvenile court. INA §101(a)(27). Congressional Research Service + The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web

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