US government proposes new rule on ‘religious visas’ Scientology is obsessed with

In 2016 we wrote about government data that researcher RM Seibert uncovered showing without a doubt that Scientology was abusing “R-1” religious visas in order to bring indentured servants to its “Sea Org” operations. Enticing people to come from places like Russia, Italy, Mexico, and Hungary, Scientology was bringing them into the country under the special visa, which is supposed to be reserved for people coming to do “religious” work. Instead, these people were doing menial labor at Scientology’s bases, with their passports confiscated and no way to leave the organization. In 2022, New York magazine took Seibert’s data and really ran with it, producing a lengthy story that included interviews with several former Scientology workers who talked about coming to this country under deceptive terms by the church. Now, our reader who dived into the details of CST for a series last year, has a new piece for us with an update about how the government is making some changes to the R-1 visa which may actually help Scientology, while at the same time getting more serious about cracking down on abuse…

 
The U.S. Government recently proposed a new rule for religious worker (R-1) visas and is now accepting public comments. The change would significantly lower the required wait time foreign clergy must remain outside the US before seeking to renew such visas.

Foreign-born religious workers may stay in the U.S. on an R-1 visa for up to 5 years. After that, under current rule they must leave the country for 12 months before applying for a new R-1 visa. Under the proposed rule, the wait time will be lowered to one month.

Traditionally, many of these religious workers instead choose to apply for permanent residency (commonly known as a green card) as a religious worker under a special employment category, known as part of the EB-4 program. However, in March 2023, the U.S. Government announced a change in prioritization for these particular green cards which will go into effect this October. Once enforced, foreign-born religious workers will need to wait an estimated 15 years before a permanent residency application could be processed, given the current backlogs.

Many US religious groups report that without a change to the R-1 visa program, the new waiting times for permanent residency will strain their operations, so the new rule change allowing a quicker renewal of the visas is needed to relieve some of that strain.

These changes will impact Scientology. While its global membership is now estimated to only be 20,000-25,000, Scientology has historically applied for an astonishing 10 percent of all religious worker visa applications – upwards of 500 applications each year for its Sea Org.

A powerful interfaith group has been the driving force behind this newly proposed rule on R-1 visa renewals. In May 2023, it started lobbying both the White House and Congress for possible changes. This group, led by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is considered very influential, and its previous proposals on R-1 visa reform have been publicly endorsed by U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Susan Collins (R-MA).

The interfaith group’s current members include:

Agudath Israel of America
Brunderhof
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Committee on Migration
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Hindu American Foundation
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
National Association of Evangelicals
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Episcopal Church
The First Church of Christ, Scientist
The Rabbinical Council of America
United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society
U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations

The Church of Scientology’s National Affairs Office, based in Washington, DC, was a signatory to previous efforts by the group. However, Scientology is notably absent from this newest push. A spokesperson for the interfaith group did not respond to a request for comment about Scientology’s exclusion.

This absence may be part of the fallout from the recent reporting on Scientology’s abuse of R1 visas, as well as from the recent lawsuits against Scientology alleging human trafficking.

In fact, a series of events involving R-1 visas over the past three years has pushed the US Government to take a closer look at the inspection side of this visa program.

In May 2021, the FBI raided the construction site of a Hindu temple in New Jersey for alleged R-1 visa violations. The Bochasanwasi Aksha Purushotam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), a Hindu organization, is alleged to have confiscated passports and visas, forced 12-hour work days seven days a week, docked payment for workers leaving the property, providing insufficient food provisions and barring communication with outsiders.

And in September 2022, a New York Magazine report highlighted personal stories of Scientology Sea Org members who came to the US on R-1 visas between 1994 and 2003. It found these visa holders were forced to do manual labor such as cleaning buildings, construction work, and landscaping for 16 hours a day for almost no pay. The report discussed how individuals had their immigration documents confiscated, were unable to refuse assignments, and had difficulty leaving their living conditions.

The US Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenships and Immigration Services (USCIS) subsequently conducted a study on R-1 visa applicants last year. It found “significant improvements” around the type of work most R-1 visa holders were reported to be doing versus what was actually happening at job sites — a similar review in 2006 found substantial fraud.

However, it also found cause for concern and updated its policy manual to allow for snap inspections of religious worker sites. Among other changes, USCIS may now “conduct ‘for cause’ inspections at any time in cases where there is suspected non-compliance with the terms of the religious worker petition or for fraud.”

All of these various changes to the R-1 visa program in recent years appear to be an attempt to strike a balance between easing burdens on all religious workers while reducing the potential for visa violations, fraud, and human trafficking.

— a reader

So, the upshot is, religious organizations don’t like that it’s going to take their workers so long to get green cards, so they want it to be easier for them to renew their R-1 visas with a quick month-long return home. That will likely benefit Scientology, which relies so heavily on such visas to staff the Flag Land Base, but the other “interfaith” organizations want nothing to do with Scientology on this lobbying effort on the government. (Chuckle.) And on the down side for Scientology, the government seems to be more interested in cracking down on abuse of the R-1 visas. (But we’re not holding our breath for a raid of Flag.)

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