In Salesian Society, Province of St. Philip the Apostle, Inc. v. Mayorkas, (D DC, Sept. 22, 2021), the D.C. federal district court dismissed a challenge to the requirements to qualify for religious workers' special immigrant visas. At issue is the requirement that the immigrant will be working in a compensated position in the U.S., and that they worked in a compensated position (or provided their own support) for the two years prior to filing for a visa. Roman Catholic Salesian Brothers take a vow of poverty. Rejecting plaintiffs' 1st Amendment free exercise challenge, the court said in part:
Plaintiffs object to USCIS’s categorization of the support paid on their behalf for living and other expenses as “non-salaried compensation,” asserting that requiring them to provide corroborating evidence that such support is paid on their behalf would cause them to “lie” because, due to their vow of poverty, “[t]he Salesians do not compensate their ministers.” ... But Plaintiffs have not explained how USCIS’s categorization of the support provided to them as “non-salaried compensation” has “put substantial pressure on [them] to modify [their] behavior and to violate [their] beliefs.”
The court also rejected Establishment Clause and RFRA challenges.
