Unpaid Buddhist Monk Says He Is Not "Employed" For Visa Purposes

The Wall Street Journal today reports on an immigration appeal out of Pamona, California raising the question of whether an unpaid Buddhist monk was "employed" by the Wat Buddhapanya Temple in violation of immigration rules. The monk, a citizen of Thailand, entered the U.S. in 2005 on an R-1 Religious Workers visa. (See prior related posting.) Because of delays in the government ruling on the Temple's application for extension of the R-1 visa and on an application for a green card, Monk Phra Bunphithak Jomthong's visa expired, and the government is seeking to deport him for working without a green card. Jomthong leads daily religious group chants, runs a 24-hour emergency hot line for families and teaches Thai language to the children of immigrants. His attorney argues that while the monk works at his religious labors, he is not "employed" by the Temple because he took an oath of poverty and receives no wages.