The act authorizes special immigrants to be admitted to the  United States as religious workers if, for 2 years prior to admission, they  have been members of a religious denomination having a bona fide,  nonprofit, religious organization in the United States; they intend to enter  the United States to work for the organization at the organization's request  in a religious vocation or occupation; and they have been carrying on the  religious work continuously for at least 2 years immediately preceding their  application for admission. The Extent and Nature of Fraud

Both INS and State have expressed concern about fraud in the religious  worker visa program, but they do not have data or analysis to firmly  establish the extent of the problem. Their knowledge of program fraud is  based on information developed primarily from fraud investigations and  through the visa screening process. The types of fraud the agencies have  encountered often involved petitioners making false statements about the  length of time that the applicant was a member of the religious organization  and the nature of the qualifying work experience. At least five investigations performed by INS since 1994 have involved  individuals or organizations filing petitions for hundreds of religious  workers. Changes to the Visa Screening Process

INS and State reviewers stated that they are not confident that the  agencies' screening process is identifying all unqualified applicants and  sponsoring organizations. They attributed the problem to the lack of  sufficient information to determine the eligibility of visa applicants and  their sponsors. INS, with State's support, is considering a number of steps  to address this problem. They said that sometimes the sponsoring organizations submit  copies of their original tax-exemption form, which may no longer be valid. Full-time Work Requirement

INS is in the process of implementing a proposed regulatory change to  expressly require that the prior work experience specified for immigrant  religious worker visa applicants be full-time work. Scope and Methodology

To determine whether INS and State have data on any fraud in the religious  worker visa program and to determine the nature of any abuse, we met  with INS and State headquarters officials and visited three of the four INS  service centers responsible for processing and approving religious worker  visas.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on: (1) the extent and nature of any fraud the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Department of State have identified in the religious worker visa program; and (2) any steps INS and State have taken or plan to take to change the visa screening process.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) although INS and State have identified some program fraud through the visa screening process and investigations, they do not have data or analysis to firmly establish the extent of fraud in the religious worker visa program; (2) the nature of the fraud uncovered typically involved: (a) applicants making false statements about their qualifications as religious workers or their exact plans in the United States; or (b) conspiracy between an applicant and a sponsoring organization to misrepresent material facts about the applicant's qualifications or the nature of the position to be filled; (3) INS and State sometimes detect fraud schemes when a sponsoring organization petitions INS for hundreds of religious workers at a time; (4) in order to increase the availability of information necessary to allow reviewers to determine the eligibility of visa applicants and sponsors, INS, with State's support, is considering changes to the visa screening process; (5) these changes include: (a) having an applicant submit additional evidence of his or her qualifications; (b) having the sponsoring organization submit additional evidence regarding its ability to financially support the applicant; and (c) incorporating new software applications that alert reviewers to organizations filing petitions for numerous workers; (6) INS is also proposing a regulatory change to expressly require that the prior work experience specified for immigrant religious worker visa applicants be full-time and that the individuals work for the religious organization in the United States on a full-time basis; (7) the religious organizations GAO met with believe the program meets their needs; and (8) of the seven organizations commenting on the proposed regulatory change, three opposed it because some part-time religious workers that are eligible may no longer qualify.