How Changes in Statutory Interpretation for Immigration Visas Affect the Church in Indiana
Roman Catholic Dioceses of Indiana Impact Statement
2023 Changes in Statutory Interpretation of the EB-4 Visa Category
The change in statutory interpretation by the U.S. Department of State related to the EB-4 visa category has caused significant hardship for the Catholic Church, their employees, and the communities they serve. Prior to the change, R-1 visa holders were required to leave for at least a year at the end of their five-year visa stay and return on a new R-1 visa. Rather than depart for one year, applicants from most countries could receive an EB-4 visa/green card within the five-year time frame of an R-1 visa. The EB-4 visa/green card waiting period now extends beyond the five-year R-1 visa time frame, so the clergy working in our dioceses will need to depart the country while waiting for their green card.
This significantly affects the five dioceses of the Province of Indianapolis and the expected impact to each diocese is outlined below:
The Archdiocese of Indianapolis
The R-1 visas of 20 of the 119 active priests will expire in the next four years.
Foreign-born priests come from many countries: Guatemala, Mexico, India, Mozambique, Rwanda, Haiti, Congo, Colombia, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, and Myanmar.
International priests serve in all the deaneries of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. They provide ministry to English and non-English speaking communities alike.
The priest from Haiti is the only ordained religious Haitian-Creole speaking priests in the archdiocese. Without him, the archdiocese is unable to provide ministry in this language in addition to already limited accessibility to Haitian-Creole ministry for a growing population of Haitian-Creole speaking Catholics.
The archdiocese has three priests from Myanmar, yet without their presence would be unable to provide ministry to the ever-growing Burmese population in Indianapolis.
The Diocese of Lafayette
The R-1 visas of 5 of the 70 active priests will expire in the next four years.
Foreign-born priests come from these countries: Nigeria, India, Colombia, and Haiti.
The Diocese of Evansville
The R-1 visas of 5 of the 65 active priests will expire in the next four years.
Foreign-born priests come from many countries: India and Australia
Some of these priests are pastors of a particular Catholic community, and if removed, some parishes may not have a priest to administer the sacraments.
Rural Indiana families will expect the most negative impact from the potential departure of their foreign-born pastors.
It is estimated that 4,762 families will be gravely impacted by the potential departure of these foreign-born priests.
The Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend
The R-1 visas of 15 of the 113 active priests will expire in the next four years.
Foreign-born priests come from many countries: Nigeria, Guatemala, Mexico, India, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Nicaragua, Cameroon, and Myanmar.
Three of these priests are chaplains at local hospitals.
The numbers above also do not address the loss of two seminarians who would likely become priests for the diocese.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend has made a considerable financial investment to maintain its foreign-born priests, including the costs related to the U.S. immigration process.
The Diocese of Gary
The R-1 visas of 3 of the 76 active priests will expire in the next four years.
Foreign-born priests come from these countries: Colombia and Mexico.
It is estimated that 4,369 families will be gravely impacted by the potential departure of these foreign-born priests.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gary estimates a negative financial impact of more than $600,000 with the potential loss of these priests.
Further financial investment will be necessary for each priest who is required to return to his native country for a year before returning to Indiana.
Most importantly in this diocese, the Hispanic and Mexican communities will greatly suffer without these pastors and their skills.
For more information about the statutory interpretation of the EB-4 visa category see the USCCB’s published “Explainer on April 2023 Change Impacting Special Immigrant Religious Workers” at their website linked here: https://www.usccb.org/rwvpchange.