U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

MATTER OF S-B-P-

Non-Precedent Decision of the Administrative Appeals Office

DATE: SEPT. 22,2017

APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA SERVICE CENTER DECISION

PETITION: FORM 1-360, PETITION FOR AMERASIAN, WIDOW(ER), OR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT

The Petitioner, a parish, seeks to employ the Beneficiary as a special immigrant religious worker to perform services as a catechist. See Immigration and Nationality Act (the Act) section 203(b )( 4), 8 U.S.C. § 1153(b)(4). The special immigrant religious worker classification allows qualifying non-profit religious organizations to employ foreign nationals as ministers, in religious vocations, or in religious occupations in the United States.

The Director of the California Service Center denied the petition, finding that the Petitioner did not establish, as required, that the proffered position qualities as a religious vocation as claimed, that the Beneficiary will perform full-time religious work, or that the Beneficiary had two years of continuous religious work experience immediately before the date the petition was filed.

The matter is now before us on appeal. The Petitioner explains that the Beneficiary, his wife, and their 11 children are an itinerant missionary family that cannot choose their assignment, but must be willing to go wherever they are sent. It states that the family was commissioned to go to the United States by the church's highest authority, Pope Benedict XVI. It argues that the proffered position is a religious vocation as shown by three religious ceremonies in which the Beneficiary made a lifetime commitment to the church and asserts that he has worked much more than the two years prior to the petition's filing in a religious vocation.

The Petitioner has submitted additional evidence on appeal, in response to a recent administrative site visit, and in response to our request for evidence (RFE). Upon de novo review, we will sustain the appeal.

I. LAW

Non-profit religious organizations may petition for foreign nationals to immigrate to the United States to perform full-time, compensated religious work as ministers, in religious vocations, or in other religious occupations. The petitioning organizations must establish that the foreign national beneficiary meets certain eligibility criteria, including membership in a religious denomination and continuous religious work experience for at least the two-year period before the petition filing date. Foreign nationals may self-petition for this classification. See generally section 203(b)(4) of

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the Act (providing classification to qualified special immigrant religious workers as described in section 101(a)(27)(C) ofthe Act, 8 U.S.C. § 110l(a)(27)(C)).

The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m) states, in pertinent part, that in order to be eligible for classification as a special immigrant religious worker, the Beneficiary must:

(2) Be coming to the United States to work in a full time (average of at least 35 hours per week) compensated position in one of the following occupations as they are defined in paragraph (m)(5) ofthis section:

(i) Solely in the vocation of a minister of that religious denomination;

(ii) A religious vocation either in a professional or nonprofessional capacity; or

(iii) A religious occupation either in a professional or nonprofessional capacity.

(4) Have been working in one ofthe positions described in paragraph (m)(2) of this section ... continuously for at least the two-year period immediately preceding the filing ofthe petition ....

The regulation at 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(ll) addresses the evidentiary requirements regarding a beneficiary's prior work experience and provides:

Evidence relating to the alien 's prior employment . . . . If the alien was employed in the United States during the two years immediately preceding the tiling of the application and:

(i) Received salaried compensation, the petitiOner must subrnit IRS documentation that the alien received a salary, such as an IRS Form W-2 or certified copies of income tax returns.

(ii) Received non-salaried compensation, the petitioner must submit IRS documentation of the non-salaried compensation if available.

(iii) Received no salary but provided for his or her own support, and provided support for any dependents, the petitioner must show how support was maintained by submitting with the petition additional documents such as audited financial statements, financial institution records, brokerage account

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statements, trust documents signed by an attorney, or other verifiable evidence acceptable to users. l

"Religious vocation" is defined in 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(5) as:

... a formal lifetime commitment, through vows, investitures, ceremonies, or similar indicia, to a religious way of life. The religious denomination must have a class of individuals whose lives are dedicated to religious practices and functions, as distinguished from the secular members of the religion. Examples of individuals practicing religious vocations include nuns, monks, and religious brothers and sisters.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Religious Vocation

The Petitioner contends the proffer_ed position of a catechist meets the definition of a religious vocation and we agree. Letters from the administrator of the petitioning organization, describe that the Petitioner is an organizational unit of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of which is part of the Roman Catholic Church, governed under the Pope in Rome, Italy. He explains the "Neocatechumenal Way [as] an apostolic initiative of the Catholic Church," that forms missionary priests and families to send on missions throughout the world. He maintains that the Beneficiary.has been trained and "formed" in the Neocatechumenal Way for over 20 years and that "the entire purpose of his life [and] his identity as a person, are one and the same as the call that he received from God and has generously responded to by living out his life as a lay catechist." According to although the Beneficiary is not an ordained minister, he has made a lifelong commitment to the church as an itinerant catechist,2 as evidenced through three commitment ceremonies, equating him to a priest or religious brother.

Evidence in the record supports these assertions. In response to our RFE, the Petitioner submitted several documents describing the Neocatechumenal Way. According to the Statute of the Neocatechumenai Way (the statute), catechists are comparable to ordained ministers who collaborate with pastors and priests.3 "Itinerant catechists" indicate their availability to be sent as itinerants to

1 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) no longer requires that the qualifying religious work experience for the two-year period, described in 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(4) and (II), be in lawful immigration status. See USC[S Policy Memorandum PM-602-0119 Quafijj,ing U.S. Work Experience fat Special Immigrant Religious ~Vorkers 2 (July 5, 20 15), http://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/USCIS/Laws/Memoranda/20 15/2015-0705 Lawful Status PM Effective. pdf (USC IS Policy Memorandum PM-602-0 119). - - - -2

Rev. Lopez uses the terms "catechist," "itinerant catechist," and "vocational catechist" to describe the proffered position. 3

See Statute of the Neocalechumenal Way 19 (2008), http://www.camminoneocatecumenale. it/public/ti lei en_ Statute 2008.pdf ("[T]he lay catechists collaborate with the pastor/parish priest and with the presbyters of the respective communities and help them in the mission of governing, teaching and sanctifying which is proper to them as ordained ministers.").

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any part of the world and "families in mission" similarly make themselves freely available to go anywhere the church sends them.4 The statute describes the three phases of the "Neocatechumenal itinerary" that must be completed to become a catechist.5 After the third phase, which includes a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, "Neocatechumenate is concluded." Similarly, the Petitioner provided a Guide for Catechists, which describes catechists as "missionary personnel," who priests should consider "as cooperators, responsible for the ministry entrusted to them, and not as subordinates carrying out instructions. "6

In this case, the record shows that the Beneficiary is an itinerant catechist and that his family is a family in mission/ traveling wherever they are sent by the church. In comparison to part-time catechists or voluntary catechists, who may have another job,8 here, the Beneficiary has dedicated his entire life to the religious practices and functions of the Neocatechumenal Way. Responsible of the Massachusetts, submitted a letter in response to our RFE, explaining that the Beneficiary and his wife made a lifetime commitment to serve on a full-time religious mission during the in Spain in 2006. He further contends that they confirmed their commitment in 2008 during a "convivence" in Italy where they were informed they were being sent to the United States on mission, and again in 2009 in a ceremony with Pope Benedict XVI. Furthermore, as attested by of

in Massachusetts, the Beneficiary and his wife work full-time evangelizing and as missionaries, are "ready to go anywhere and to serve anybody," abandoning all of the comforts of a regular life in order to fulfill the mission that God has given them.

The Beneficiary's updated curriculum vitae (CV) submitted in response to our RFE, provides further details regarding his lifelong commitment to the church. According to his CV, he began his initial catechesis in 1995 in Chile. His "first scrutiny convivence" was in 1997 and his "final second scrutiny convivence" was in 2000, completing the first phase of the Neocatechumenal itinerary, as described in the statute.9 His CV shows that he completed the Neocatechumenal itinerary in 2009 when he made a pilgrimage to Italy. The record contains several letters from individuals who personally witnessed the Beneficiary in these ceremonies. Therefore, the record corroborates the contention that the Beneficiary made a formal lifelong commitment to a religious way of life through these three ceremonies. 10

4 /d. at 20, 21. 5 1d.atl2-15. 6 See Congregation for ' the Evangelization of Peoples. Guide for Catechists 12, 30 (1993), http: //www. vatican. val roman_ curia/congregations/cevang/documents/rc _con_ cevang_ doc _19971203 _ cath _ en.html. 7 also uses the term "itinerant missionary family." 8 See Guide for Catechists. supra n.6 at 5, 28-29 (stating that the faithful and full-time catechist "look[s] upon the vocation of a catechist as a mission rather than a job."). · 9 See Statute of the Neocatechumenal Way, supra n.3 at 13 (describing the first phase as involving two steps, each lasting approximately two years, and each ending in the celebration of the first scrutiny and celebration of the second scrutiny, respectively). 10 In response to our RFE, the Beneficiary's wife explained that she inadvertently omitted some of her husband 's "convivences" rrom the CV initially submitted due to a mistake she made on Microsoft Excel. Considering the Petitioner has submitted numerous other attestations from individuals affirming the Beneficiary ' s attendance at the

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Moreover, the record shows that itinerant catechists and families in mission have dedicated their lives to the church's religious practices and functions, as distinguished from the secular members of the religion. The Beneficiary and his family have been sent from Spain to Colorado and Massachusetts as missionaries by the church, something that would not occur among secular members of the churcli. The Beneficiary's duties as a catechist are also unique compared to other, secular church members and include, but are not limited to: leading the evangelization efforts throughout the area; overseeing a team of five families, three missionary women, and others; creating new Neocatechumenal communities; leading bible studies; and preparing and teaching the catechism program. The record includes letters from the Archbishop of

who attests that after having met the Beneficiary and his family on multiple occasions, their "identity is equal to that of priests, religious brothers, and nuns." 11

Accordingly, we find that the Petitioner has established that the proffered position of catechist meets the regulatory definition of a religious vocation in this case. To be clear, we do not find that all catechists are a religious vocation and our conclusion is limited to the specific facts of this case. In this instance, the Petitioner has shown that the Beneficiary has made "a formal lifetime commitment, through vows, investitures, ceremonies, or similar indicia, to a religious way of life." 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(5). It has also established that the Neocatechumenal Way distinguishes itinerant catechists, whose lives are dedicated to the church, from the secular members of the religion. We therefore find that the Petitioner has established the proffered position qualifies as a religious vocation and withdraw the Director's finding to the contrary.

B. Full-Time Religious Work

The Director found that the weekly schedule in the record included activities that any church member would normally engage in (such as time spent in prayer), and that other listed duties (such as making hospital visits) lacked sufficient detail to show that they qualify as religious activities. The Petitioner has provided additional documentation to show that the Beneficiary will work more than the minimum requirement of an average of 35 hours per week. For instance, the finance and operations manager of the petitioning organization, clarified that the Beneficiary has been placed into the leadership role of Missio Ad Gentes ("Mission in the Middle of the People"), where he leads the church's evangelization efforts throughout the Boston area. According to the Beneficiary's missionary work averages approximately 60 hours per week, consisting of evangelizing in homes, businesses (such as a beauty salon whose owner opens her salon to the missionaries after work hours), hospitals, and "in the streets." She specified that the Beneficiary oversees the witnessing, preaching, music, and "celebration of the word" on Sundays during "the Great Mission." In addition,

submitted a new weekly schedule in response to our RFE which provides a detailed description of the Beneficiary's weekly, monthly, and yearly commitments and responsibilities. Considering the record in its entirety, we find that the Petitioner has established the Beneficiary will be

previously omitted convivences, we consider this inconsistency in the record to be reasonably explained. 11 states that the position of Cardinal-Archbishop is the second highest position in the Roman Catholic Church and that as such, speaks on behalf of the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

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working in a full-time positiOn averaging at least 35 hours per week, as required by 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(2). 12 We withdraw the Director's finding otherwise.

C. Prior Religious Work

The petition was filed on August 10, 2015. Therefore, the Petitioner must demonstrate that the Beneficiary has been working in a full-time, compensated position as a minister or in a religious vocation or occupation from August 10, 2013, through August 10, 2015. 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(2), (4). We find that the Petitioner has established this requirement.

The record shows that during the relevant two-year period, the Beneficiary was working full-time as a catechist, first at a church in Colorado, then at the petitioning organization. A letter from the Colorado church's pastor attests that the Beneficiary worked full-time as a vocational catechist from November of 2010 until December of 2013. A copy of the Beneficiary's 2013 IRS Fonn W-2, Wage and Tax Statement, and a paystub for the pay period ending December 31, 2013, show that the Colorado church paid the Beneficiary a total of $14,600 in wages for the year. A copy of a rental agreement, invoices from a property management company, and copies of utility bills demonstrate that the Colorado church also paid for the Beneficiary's rental house and utilities.

From December of 2013 to the present, documentation in the record confirms the Beneficiary worked full-time for the Petitioner in Massachusetts and was compensated with room and board, including utilities, and incidental expenditures. The record includes, but is not limited to: an agreement with

to provide free housing and utilities to the Beneficiary and his family; documents showing the Petitioner set up a restricted savings account solely for the purpose of supporting the Beneficiary with food, car insurance, and other household incidentals; copies of the Beneficiary's bank account statements; and numerous letters from church leaders and members attesting to donations they made to the church in order to support the Beneficiary's full-time work as a catechist. In addition, the record contains a copy of the Beneficiary's weekly schedule and the Beneficiary has provided a detailed statement accounting for all compensation he has received. 13

Considering the record in its totality, including the additional information the Petitioner submitted in response to our RFE, we find that the Petitioner has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the Beneficiary has been working continuously in a qualifying position for at least the two-year period immediately preceding the filing of the petition. See 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(4). The Director's finding to the contrary is withdrawn.

12 Unlike the definition of a religious occupation under 8 C.F.R. § 204.5(m)(5), the definition of religious vocation does not include any requirements regarding the qualifying nature of the beneficiary's duties or the amount of time spent perfonning religious versus administrative duties. 13 Our RFE noted that the Beneficiary's 2014 and 2015 taxes indicated he received $5,228 and $9,372 in wages, respectively, and that it was unclear how he earned those wages. In response, the Beneficiary explains that these amounts were donations he received for his missionary work. Copies of cashed checks, receipts, bank account statements, and letters from donors corroborate the Beneficiary's .contention.

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III. CONCLUSION

The Petitioner has established the Beneficiary will work full-time in a religious vocation and meets the two-year qualifying religious work experience requirement.

ORDER: The appeal is sustained.

Cite as Matter o.fS-B-P-, ID# 195469 (AAO Sept. 22, 2017)

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