Church of Scientology Religious Worker Visas Research Index

 

This webpage is a collection of information and links related to the research subject of visa applications (and appeals) and the Church of Scientology.

Passport and visa fraud are federal felonies. Penalties are: 10 years (for a first offense if not tied to terrorism or drug trafficking), 15 years for fraud with other criminal links, 20 years for fraud related to drug trafficking, 25 years for fraud related to international terrorism.

 

USCIS appeals decisions re Scientology

 

• Summary of USCIS appeals decisions in a PDF file (a work in progress) This work is courtesy of a helpful critic of Scientology. Last revised 9-March-2010.
  

  2010 101220.02 remanded 2007 070124.02 denied 070124.03 denied 070124.04 denied 070306.01 denied 070328.01 denied 070425.03 denied 070601.01 approved 070829.01 approved 071005.02 denied

  2006 * 060109.02 approved 060110.04 approved 060117.01 denied 060117.05 dup 060117.04 approved 060117.08 dup 060120.04 approved 060120.10 dup 060120.05 approved 060123.01 approved 060123.04 dup 060123.02 approved 060123.05 dup 060203.01 denied 060203.03 dup 060203.02 denied 060203.04 dup 060221.01 approved 060303.01 approved 060307.01 approved 060330.01 approved 060330.02 approved 060330.03 approved 060410.01 denied 060502.01 denied 060503.01 remanded 060503.02 approved 060508.01 approved 060510.02 approved 060510.03 approved 060515.01 approved 060524.03 approved 060602.04 denied 060602.08 dup 060801.01 remanded 060809.01 denied 060809.09 denied 060809.19 dup 060811.01 approved 060829.01 dismissed 060829.02 denied 060918.01 denied 061010.02 denied 061010.03 denied 061011.01 denied 061017.01 approved 061102.03 denied

  2005 * 050301.03 remanded 050301.09 dup 050317.08 denied 050317.25 dup 050325.02 remanded 050325.04 dup 050816.04 approved 050816.09 dup 050916.01 approved 050916.03 dup 050928.03 approved 050928.06 dup 050930.01 approved 051110.01 remanded 051110.05 dup 051110.02 remand #2 051110.06 dup 051114.06 approved 051114.13 dup 051118.01 denied 051118.02 dup 051121.01 approved 051121.07 dup 051121.02 approved 051121.08 dup 051121.03 approved 051121.09 dup 051121.05 approved 051121.11 dup 051123.01 denied 051123.07 dup 051123.02 denied 051123.08 dup 051123.03 denied 051123.09 dup 051123.04 denied 051123.10 dup 051123.06 remanded 051123.12 dup 051202.01 approved 051202.02 dup 051213.01 approved 051213.04 dup 051216.13 approved 051216.26 dup 051222.01 remanded 051222.11 dup 051222.02 remanded 051222.12 dup 051222.03 remanded 051222.13 dup 051223.01 denied 051223.04 dup 051223.02 denied

  2004 040802.02 denied 040816.02 denied 040816.04 remanded 040909.01 remanded 040909.03 denied 040913.06 denied 041008.06 remanded 2003 030821.23 denied 2002 020621.05 denied

  Sorted by last digits of application # ** 1669: 052212.03 052212.13 1669: 52212.13 34370: 051011.01 051011.05 34370: 51011.05 50646: 60211.03 50671: 101220.02 50782: 60305.01 50988: 061701.04 061701.08 50988: 61701.08 51377: 53009.01 51442: 52312.02 51570: 051609.03 061609.01 51570: 61609.01 51633: 60305.02 51644: 72803.01 060809.01 51786: 051612.13 051612.26 51786: 51612.26 52027: 61710.01 52147: 61004.01 52222: 70510.02 52511: 052311.02 052311.08 52511: 52311.08 52591: 63003.01 52614: 60805.01 52690: 060206.04 060206.08 072908.01 52690: 60206.08 52690: 72908.01 52698: 32108.23 52735: 63003.03 53013: 60703.01 53210: 61005.03 53215: 61010.02 53230: 052111.05 052111.11 53230: 52111.11 53232: 61110.01 53269: 72504.03 53336: 051011.02 051011.06 052503.02 052503.04 53336: 51011.06 53336: 52503.02 53336: 52503.04 53430: 052312.01 052312.04 062908.01 53430: 52312.04 53430: 62908.01 53455: 062001.05 062001.11 53455: 62001.11 53568: 061701.01 061701.05 062405.03 53568: 61701.05 53568: 62405.03 53658: 61010.03 53805: 051411.06 051411.13 53805: 51411.13 53813: 052212.01 052212.11 53813: 52212.11 53840: 61505.01 53870: 052111.01 052111.07 53870: 52111.07 53900: 61001.04 53910: 052111.03 052111.09 53910: 52111.09 53915: 060302.01 060302.03 072401.02 53915: 60302.03 53915: 72401.02 53931: 052111.02 052111.08 53931: 52111.08 53947: 050212.01 050212.02 53947: 50212.02 54028: 62102.01 54059: 61108.01 54066: 70106.01 54092: 052311.01 052311.07 072401.04 54092: 52311.07 54092: 72401.04 54113: 60303.01 54137: 052311.06 052311.12 54137: 52311.12 54164: 052311.03 052311.09 54164: 52311.09 54165: 052212.02 052212.12 54165: 52212.12 54274: 61005.02 54304: 051312.01 051312.04 54304: 51312.04 54314: 051703.08 051703.25 54314: 51703.25 54383: 22106.05 54444: 052809.03 052809.06 54444: 52809.06 54509: 60901.02 54514: 062001.04 062001.10 54514: 62001.1 54575: 051811.01 051811.02 060908.09 060908.19 54575: 51811.02 54575: 60908.09 54575: 60908.19 54719: 052311.04 052311.10 062908.02 54719: 52311.1 54719: 62908.02 54812: 062301.02 062301.05 54812: 62301.05 54972: 63003.02 55114: 062301.01 062301.04 55114: 62301.04 55354: 060302.02 060302.04 072401.03 55354: 60302.04 55354: 72401.03

  * Some of the 2005 & 2006 decisions have duplicates. The “blacked out” portions may be different. It is unclear why these duplicates appear in the system.

  ** Decoding the receipt number: The first 3 characters represent which service center is processing your case: EAC=Vermont , WAC=California, LIN=Nebraska, SRC=Texas. The next two digits represent the fiscal year (which runs from Oct 1 through Sept 30) in which your case was received (example: 00 is 2000 ). The next three digits represent the computer workday of that fiscal year on which the fee was taken.

  Communications from Scientology to USCIS

• COSFSO (Flag) attempts to get USCIS to designate Flag as a religious college (“Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Non-immigrant Students”)
  030109: appeal is denied
  040224: Flag’s attempt to reopen the case is denied
  INS Form I-17
• 070623 CofS Kenneth Long to USCIS
• 070625 CofS Glen Stilo to USCIS
• 070625 CofS Jeanne Reynolds to USCIS
• 071116 CofS Jeanne Reynolds to USCIS
• 080729 Letter from “churches” to USCIS
  

  Other dox

• 901129 Pub. L. 101-649 Immigration Act of 1990 (link) [Shows the entire 1990 regulations for R-1 visas: SEC. 151. & SEC. 209.]
• 990326 US General Accounting Office: Issues concerning the Religious Worker Visa program
• 060000 A short guide for religious visa applicants and their religious institutions, prepared by Catholic Religious Immigration Group [Here’s a 2006 manual issued by the Catholic Church. This is an example of how R-1 visas were correctly used by a legitimate church, as a comparision to CofS fraudulant use of R-1 visas.]
• 000629 US General Accounting Office: Testimony: Observations on the Issuance of Visas for Religious Workers
• 060700 USCIS Office of Fraud Detection and National Security: Religious Worker Benefit Fraud Assessment Summary
• 070419 USCIS Proposes Revisions for Religious Worker Visa Classifications
• 071210 DHS (Dept of Homeland Security) Statement of Regulatory Priorities [search in doc for word “religious”]
• 081106 U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 9 – Visas [This is the document that foreign US Embassies use to examine R-1 visa applications. It is not just the USCIS regulations, but the current overview of R-1 visa regulations.]
• 081126 USCIS: Special Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Religious Workers; Special Immigrant Nonminister Religious Worker Program Act; Final Rule and Notice (text version)
• 081126 USCIS: summary of the final rule and notice of same date
• 081209 USCIS: amendment to the final rule and notice of same date
• 090204 USCIS: Non-minister category of Special Immigrant Religious Workers to expire on March 6, 2009
  

  Research resources and links

• uscis.gov US Citizenship & Immigration Service
• VisaPro.com US Immigration Services online. Lots of articles.
• regulations.gov Regulations.gov is your one-stop Web site to find, view, and comment on Federal regulations and other Federal actions.
• 070102 Immigration Newswire: USCIS Advises on Period of Admission for H-4 and L-2 Nonimmigrants
• 880315 Matter of Church of Scientology International, 19 I&N; Dec. 593
• 080415 Republican Study Committee, Legislative Bulletin, refer to “H.R. 5570�Religious Worker Visa Extension Act of 2008”
• 000629 2000 Religious Worker Visa programs. Hearing before the subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives (June 29, 2000)
• 080000 “The ABC�S Of Immigration: R-1 Religious Worker Visas” from www.visalaw.com; an overview of the new regulations, in plain English.
• Here are the brand new USCIS forms which Scientology will have to fill out, to try to import foreign Sea Org members. These include the changes from the new R-1 visa regulations. Form I-129 is used for non-immigrant workers, and form I-130 is used for immigrant workers. Scientology will typically file both forms at the same time. I-129 is good for a maximum of 5 years.
• 080919 USCIS Interoffice Memo, “Handling of Non-Minister Special Immigrant Religious Worker Petitions Affected by the October 1, 2008 Sunset Date”
• 081121 USCIS Fact Sheet, “USCIS Publishes Final Rule for Religious Worker Visa Classifications”
• Freedom of Information Act: Annual Report 2008 and FOIA Electronic Reading Room
• Scientology and Religious Workers Visas, by Jeff Jacobsen
  

  Title 8 of Code of Federal Regulations (8 CFR)

  The immigration code as it relates to “religious worker visas” is 8 C.F.R. � 204.5 .

• Current version is on USCIS website; the complete 8 CFR. Click and scroll to find “Sec. 204.5 Petitions for employment-based immigrants”. Then see section “(m) Religious workers”.
• 2003 edition (a copy for archive and comparison)
• 2007 edition (a copy for archive and comparison)
• 2008 final rule from DHS/USCIS (Special Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Religious Workers)
  

  News links

• 081107 Washingtonpopst.com Immigration to Go Paperless: Agency Plans Electronic Overhaul of Case-Management System
• 081128 USA IMMIGRATION NEWS US Immigration: Significant Changes to Religious Worker Visa Classifications. Friday, 28 November 2008
• 081211 National Catholic Reporter New rules delay religious workers’ visas. By Patricia Zapor, Catholic News Service Published: December 11, 2008
  

  Case study: Michael Pociej

• 970423 Deportation Order for Michael Pociej from April 23rd, 1997
• 030212 Church of Scientology of Los Angeles v. Ashcroft et al. Filed 02/12/03
• Post-1989: Scientologist Online website of Michael Pociej (original link)
  

  Case study: Artur Solomonyan

• Seven news articles related to Artur Solomonyan who had entered the USA on a Scientology-related visa but was arrested for brokering weapons. “Solomonyan entered the United States six years ago on a cultural exchange visa claiming he was a religious worker for the Church of Scientology, according to law enforcement officials, also speaking on condition of anonymity. He was living on the proceeds of Medicare fraud and other scams as he carried out the weapons scheme, the officials said.”
• Jeff’s blog has a comment wondering if Scientology sells religious worker visas to people who are otherwise having a hard time getting into the US.
• Scientology and Religious Workers Visas, by Jeff Jacobsen