{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=8F2D4C12-41A6-45DB-8D67-D0781FAABD97", "Release: Hatch Introduces Bill to Streamline Visa Processing for Missionaries", "2016-09-21", "2016", "2016-09", "Republican", "House", "UT", "Orrin Hatch", "H000338", "www.hatch.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch, R-UT, the longest-serving member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced a bill today to streamline religious worker visa processing for missionaries in established international missionary programs.\r\n\u00a0Because of regulations implemented by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008, religious organizations must receive approval of a nonimmigrant visa petition before a missionary obtains a visa. Due to the high volume of petitions filed, it can take six to nine months for USCIS to process individual petitions for volunteer missionaries. Add in time for petition preparation and consular visa processing, and missionaries face long delays in starting their service\u2014typically nine to eleven months.\r\n\u00a0The new bill would reduce visa processing times by allowing eligible religious organizations to participate in a streamlined blanket petition procedure. Missionaries covered by the blanket petition could get their visas in just a few weeks.\r\n\u00a0\u201cMissionary service is the lifeblood for many churches across the nation, yet long and unpredictable visa delays are taking a toll on those who have answered the call to serve,\u201d\u00a0Senator Hatch said. \u201cMy bill will shorten the visa processing time for longstanding and reputable religious organizations while preserving existing anti-fraud and security protections. It\u2019s a win-win for everyone involved: USCIS can dedicate its limited resources to other pressing matters while missionaries in established programs can travel to their missions without lengthy delays.\u201d\r\n\u00a0The legislation introduced Wednesday would allow religious organizations with longstanding missionary programs to participate in a streamlined blanket petition procedure if:\r\n \r\nThe locations of their missionary service have passed a fraud prevention and detection site inspection.\r\nThe petitioning organization has an established program for temporary, uncompensated missionary work in the United States that is part of a broader international program of missionary work.\r\nParticipation in missionary work is an established element of religious development in the religious denomination, and the organization provides formal training for its missionaries incidental to their service.\r\nThe petitioning organization has received USCIS approval of at least 1,000 stand-alone R-1 petitions.\r\nThe petitioning organization has in place a financial support system that reasonably assures that its missionaries will not become public charges during their missionary service.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ContentRecord_id=8F2D4C12-41A6-45DB-8D67-D0781FAABD97"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7707299664616585, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}