This rule significantly reduces this wait time, providing stability and minimizing disruptions for faith-based communities. We are taking the necessary steps to ensure religious organizations can continue delivering the services that Americans depend on,” said a DHS spokesperson. Changes implemented by the Department of State in 2023 significantly increased the already lengthy wait times for immigrant visas in the EB-4 category for aliens from certain countries, including for religious workers. These delays have caused many religious workers to exhaust their maximum period of stay in R-1 status. By eliminating the one-year foreign residency requirement, USCIS is reducing the time religious organizations are left without their trusted clergy and non-ministerial religious workers.