Speech #1100153505

I yield myself such time as I may consume. Members of the House. this week we are honored by a visit from His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and are reminded of the good work that people of faith do all around the world. I am pleased to bring before the House at this time the Religious Worker Visa Extension Act of 2008. This measure would reauthorize the Special Immigrant NonMinister Religious Worker Program. which also allows nonminister religious workers to obtain special immigrant status in the United States so that they may do the work required of their faith. If we dont act. the program will sunset at the end of September of this year. Nonminister religious workers are people of faith who are called to a vocation or who are in traditional religious occupations with a bona fide nonprofit religious organization in the United States. Examples of those called to a vocation include nuns. monks. and sisters. Examples of those in religious occupations include missionaries. counselors. translators. religious instructors. cantors. and other pastoral care providers. The program provides up to 5.000 special immigrant visas per year that religious denominations or organizations in the United States may use to sponsor foreign nationals to perform religious service here. Once granted. this type of visa allows religious workers to immigrate permanently to the United States. Since it was first enacted in 1990. the program has been extended four times. most recently in 2003. Working with the ranking member of our committee. LAMAR SMITH. were making changes in the program for the first time to address potential fraudulent uses of the program. None other than our Immigration Subcommittee Chair. ZOE LOFGREN of California. has led the way in fashioning these proposals. First. the bill requires that the Department of Homeland Security issue regulations by December 31 of this year to eliminate or reduce any fraud in the program.