,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #gge  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the
 ,,united ,,states  ,march #cj1         
#bjag,mr4 ,hatch introduced the         
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on the      
,judiciary  ,a ,,bill  ,to streamline   
the ,r-#a religious worker visa petition
 process4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,religious ,worker  
,visa ,improvement ,act4  #b4 ,r-#a     
religious worker visa petitions ,section
 #bad of the ,immigration and           
,nationality ,act 7#h ,u4,s4,c4 #aahd7  
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  7s7 ,visas of nonimmigrants 
described in section #aja7;a77#ae77,r7  
7#a7 ,in general ,except as provided in 
paragraph 7#b71 a consular officer may  
not issue a visa and the ,secretary of  
,homeland ,security may not grant status
 to any alien under section             
#aja7;a77#ae77,r7 until the ,secretary  
has approved a petition filed on behalf 
of such alien4  7#b7 ,blanket petition  

authorized ,notwithstanding paragraph   
7#a71 a petitioner who has satisfied the
 requirements under paragraph 7#c7 may  
file a blanket petition1 in lieu of     
individual petitions1 on behalf of      
aliens who meet the eligibility         
requirements under paragraph 7#d74  7#c7
 ,petitioner requirements ,a petitioner 
satisfies the requirements under this   
paragraph if-- 7,a7 the petitioner has  
an established program for temporary1   
uncompensated missionary work in the    
,united ,states that is part of a       
broader international missionary work   
program2  7,b7 participation in the     
missionary work described in            
subparagraph 7,a7 is an established     
element of religious development in the 
petitioner's religious denomination2    
7,c7 the petitioner provides formal     
training to its missionaries that is    
incidental to their missionary service2 
7,d7 the petitioner has established a   
financial support system that reasonably
 ensures that its missionaries will not 

become public charges during their      
missionary service2 and  7,e7 at least  
#a1jjj individual petitions for         
nonimmigrant religious workers          
previously filed by the petitioner under
 section #aja7;a77#ae77,r7 have been    
approved by the ,secretary of ,homeland 
,security4  7#d7 ,eligibility for       
inclusion in blanket petition ,an alien 
meets the requirements under this       
paragraph if the alien-- 7,a7 is        
described in section #aja7;a77#ae77,r72 
7,b7 has been accepted into a missionary
 program described in paragraph         
7#c77;,a72 and  7,c7 will perform       
missionary work at a location listed in 
the blanket-petition approval notice4   
7#e7 ,limitation  7,a7 ,in general ,the 
,secretary of ,homeland ,security may   
only include1 in its approval of a      
blanket petition1 locations of          
missionary service for which the        
,secretary has previously conducted a   
site inspection in connection with an   
individual petition for a religious     

worker4  7,b7 ,defined term ,in this    
paragraph1 the term location of         
missionary service means a specific     
worksite or a geographic area with      
specific boundaries4 ,if the location of
 missionary service is a geographical   
area with specific boundaries1 the      
location shall include a head office or 
facility that can be reasonably subject 
to a site inspection4  7#f7 ,list of    
authorized locations of missionary      
service  7,a7 ,notice ,when the         
,secretary of ,homeland ,security       
approves a blanket petition filed under 
paragraph 7#b71 the ,secretary shall    
issue a notice to the petitioner        
containing a list of the locations of   
missionary service authorized under the 
blanket petition4 ,such approval shall  
remain valid unless revoked by the      
,secretary of ,homeland ,security for   
good cause shown4  7,b7 ,amendment ,a   
petitioner under this subsection may    
file a petition at any time seeking to  
amend the list of locations of          

missionary service that were previously 
authorized4  4