International priests in Diocese of Salt Lake City affected by change in immigration law

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SALT LAKE CITY — A 2023 change to U.S. immigration policies is delaying priests and religious brothers and sisters from other countries who seek to minister in the United States. The Diocese of Salt Lake City, which relies heavily on foreign-born clergy to serve in its parishes and missions, is among the many mission dioceses affected by this change, which slows down the application process for immigrant visas for religious workers.

“Because of their bilingual and multilingual skills, our international priests are able to cover a lot of ground and to spread the Gospel to most of our parishes throughout the State of Utah, which would not be possible without their generosity and willingness to leave their country, family and friends,” said Father Kenneth Vialpando, the diocesan vicar for clergy.   

“Although our native priests continue to provide excellent ministries throughout the state, we, as priests within the Diocese of Salt Lake City, are always willing to welcome priests from other countries because of what they bring to the table, namely to the Altar of the Lord, with their various cultures, customs, traditions, languages, etc.,” he said. “Because of their ministerial gifts and talents, we have always been willing to help our international priests apply for ministry in our diocese by working with and through the legal system to obtain their visas with the hope of serving the diocese for three to five years or with the hope of having them seek permanent residence.”   

Of the 72 active priests serving in the diocese, about 20 are from outside the U.S. Of those priests, nine have R-1 Nonimmigrant Religious Worker visas, four have their permanent residency in the U.S. and six are naturalized citizens.    

To welcome a priest from overseas, the diocese must file a 1-360 Special Immigrant Petition on his behalf. Once that is approved, the priest may apply for a three-year R-1 visa. Toward the end of that time he may apply for a three-year extension. Even if that is received, however, by the end of the six years he must have obtained a green card or must leave the U.S. for a minimum of one year before reapplying for a visa.

In April 2023 the U.S. Department of State announced a “retrogression” in its policies that was intended to bring immigrants from Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala into the same visa categories as the rest of the world. As part of that change, the State Department indicated that only those religious workers who have an approved 1-360 petition dated before Sept. 1, 2018 can apply for a green card. This has created a significant backlog in the processing of green card applications.

In the past obtaining a green card took three to five months, said Marylin Acosta, secretary to Bishop Oscar A. Solis. With the new change to the law, the process is now taking more than two years, and while they wait for a green card, priests may be forced to return to their home country before being allowed to return to the U.S.

“The heavy consequence of this change is that religious workers who seek to adjust status will now have to make a choice to depart the United States for a minimum of one year or hastily find another lawful path to remain in the United States until their priority date becomes current,” stated a letter sent Nov. 17, 2023 by Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. and USCCB Migration and Refugee Services. “But for most religious workers, alternate paths to remain in the United States are either unavailable or would require the applicant to leave their employer and thereby leave their religious community with insufficient support.”

The letter was addressed to Ur Jaddou, U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services director, and other officials.

“Director Jaddou and other government representatives have communicated with stakeholders regarding the issue and have noted that a Congressional solution is needed, while expressing receptivity to administrative options,” the letter said. “While we will continue to advocate for a congressional solution to this problem, that outcome is certain to come too late for the religious workers currently in the queue to adjust status.”

In the Diocese of Salt Lake City, two priests now serving here are affected by the change and their status is uncertain, Acosta said.  

“It is our plan to receive more international priests, but unless the immigration policies change, the hope of having them arrive soon will not become a reality,” Fr. Vialpando said.   

The USCCB/Catholic Legal Immigration Network letter made several recommendations to address this issue, but none of them appear to have been enacted by U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. Diocesan officials are encouraging Utah Catholics to contact their Congressional representatives to encourage Immigration Services to implement those suggestions. Visit https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member to find your congressional representative.

The original USCCB/Catholic Legal Immigration Network letter may be found at https://bit.ly/3VAS6kj.