Religious Workers Dodge Year-Long U.S. Exile Requirement
Published Date: 1/16/2026
Rule
Summary
Religious workers on R-1 visas no longer have to wait a full year outside the U.S. before coming back after their maximum stay. This change helps churches, mosques, and other religious groups keep their important workers without long breaks. The new rule starts January 16, 2026, and comments are open until March 17, 2026.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
No More 1-Year Return Wait for R-1 Workers
If you are an R-1 religious worker (the R-1 classification permits up to a 60-month total stay), starting January 16, 2026 you will no longer be required to reside abroad and be physically present outside the United States for one year after reaching the maximum period of stay before seeking readmission in R-1 status. You still must depart the United States at the end of the maximum admission period, but there is no longer a minimum one-year foreign residence before you can seek readmission.
Dependents' Readmission Tied to R-1 Rules
If you are the spouse or child of an R-1 religious worker (R-2 dependent), your period of stay and readmission limitations are subject to the same rules as the R-1 principal. The rule explains that R-2 status is subject to the same period of stay and limitations as the R-1, so changes to the R-1 one-year requirement relate to R-2 readmission timing.
Seasonal, Part-Time, Commuter Exceptions Stay Same
The rule keeps existing exceptions: R-1 religious workers who did not reside continually in the United States because their employment was seasonal or intermittent, or who worked an aggregate of six months or less per year, and those who reside abroad and regularly commute to the United States, remain exempt from the one-year foreign residence requirement. DHS states explicitly that this rule does not change those exceptions.
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