March 2025 was a particularly egregious month in the world of religious worker immigration policy, with both the EB-4 category being used up for the fiscal year and the Non-Minister Sunset provision almost lapsing. The news of both of these has created a lot of concern, and also a lot of confusion. Because of this I would like to make clear from the outset that neither the EB-4 category nor the Non-Minister Sunset provision are ever gone forever; they will both be back eventually. In fact, the Non-Minister Sunset provision has already been renewed through the end of the fiscal year, now expiring on Sept. 30, 2025. However, that does not negate the fact that occasionally both can be temporarily inaccessible and that there are repercussions for many foreign nationals. To better understand those repercussions, we need to understand what these are and how they differ.

On Feb. 28, 2025, the Department of State announced that all available immigrant visas have been issued in the Employment-Based Fourth Preference (EB-4) category for fiscal year (FY) 2025. To break down what this is and its ramifications, we need to discuss immigrant visas and how their allotment works.

For a foreign national to become a lawful permanent resident, there needs to be an available immigrant visa. There are two main preference categories for visas, family-sponsored (F) and employment-based (EB), which are then further subdivided based on the individual’s application. The fourth sub-category under the EB chart is for “special immigrants,” which can mean a wide variety of applicants, from special immigrant juveniles to special immigrant religious workers. This is why it is called EB-4, employment-based fourth category. This EB-4 category is what religious workers utilize to obtain their green cards.

There is a finite amount of immigrant visas allotted every fiscal year (FY), and these are covered under the statues 8 USC § 1151 and 8 USC § 1153. 8 USC §1151 describes the total allotment of immigrant visas for the coming FY while 8 USC § 1153 discusses the breakdown of the percentages that get allotted to each category. 8 USC §1151(d) states that the number of EB immigrant visas is 140,000 plus the difference (if any) between the maximum number of visas which may be issued for family-sponsored immigrants during the previous FY and the number of visas issued under that section during that year. 8 USC § 1153(b)(4) states that the amount of immigrant visas allotted every FY shall be no more than 7.1 percent of the total allotted amount. This also comes with the added caveat that, regardless of what that number is each FY, no more than 5,000 of these visas may be made available to special immigrant religious workers who are not ministers.

Every month the government issues a series of charts called the “Visa Bulletin” which tracks information about every single category and sub-category of immigrant visas. The Visa Bulletin breaks down into various charts showing who is eligible for an immigrant visa. In February 2025, we received news that the filing date for the EB-4 preference category (which covers all religious workers) would retrogress to 08/01/2019. This means that applicants who did not file their I-360 petitions before that date could not file the I-485 application to adjust status to lawful permanent residence (LPR). This also impacts applicants with a pending I-458 application.

Applicants with a pending I-485 application could not be approved until the date they filed the I-360 petition (called the priority date) becomes current or comes before the date listed in the visa bulletin. In March 2025, there was an update indicating that the EB-4 category may become unavailable as early as April 2025. Now, with the news that all available EB-4 immigrant visas have been used up for FY 2025, this means applicants who wish to file the I-485 application cannot do so until the start of FY 2026, which is on Oct. 1, 2025, and those with a pending I-485 application will have their cases put on hold. These cases are still valid, but they just cannot be approved at this time.

This brings us to the Non-Minister Sunset provision, which just got extended out through the end of FY 2025 (Sept. 30, 2025). While the provision is typically extended, there have been times in which the provision has lapsed, and when it does there are similar effects for non-ministers. The Non-Minister Sunset provision allows non-minister religious workers to file for and receive lawful permanent residence (LPR) status. This means that filing both the I-485 application to adjust status and filing the I-360 petition to be classified as a special immigrant religious worker are based on whether the Non-Minister Sunset provision is current or lapsed.

The “sunset” in the name denotes that this is a temporary measure that needs to be renewed annually. The extension of this provision has been historically tied to the annual congressional budget, so whenever Congress cannot agree on a budget (such as what we witnessed earlier this year and appears to be happening with increased frequency), then one of two things happens: (1) Either a resolution is issued temporarily pushing the expiration date in the hope that Congress agrees on a budget by then, or (2) the provision lapses. When the Non-Minister Sunset provision lapses, no new I-485 applications may be filed for non-minister religious workers and pending I-485 application cases for non-minister religious workers are put on hold until the provision is reenacted. In addition, non-ministers are not able to file I-360 petitions whenever the provision lapses. While it is technically a temporary provision, since its creation, it has always been renewed whenever Congress eventually approves the budget, and it was recently extended through Sept. 30, 2025.

This March we almost found ourselves in the regrettable situation of both the Non-Minister Sunset provision expiring and the EB-4 category already running out of allotted immigrant visas for FY2025. The provision has already been extended through September, but immigrant visas for the EB-4 category is currently unavailable. However, immigrant visas for the EB-4 category will be back at the start of FY 2026 (Oct. 1, 2025). Since the Non-Minister Sunset provision directly applies to a subset of the EB-4 category, even with the provision renewed, new I-485 applications cannot be filed nor pending I-485 applications be approved until more immigrant visas are allotted in FY 2026. However, I-360 petitions may now continue to be filed for non-ministers.

Unfortunately, the permanent residency process for religious workers is a long process that seems to be taking even longer. It is important to continue to monitor both the expiration date for the Non-Minister Sunset provision and the monthly Visa Bulletins issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). If you have any questions regarding how this information impacts your religious worker, please contact your RIS assigned attorney.