The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has prepared a report that summarizes the January 2004 posting of 415 decisions by the Administrative Appeals Unit (AAO) of the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS).

Four themes are apparent throughout the decisions:

1.      Satisfaction of the two-year period of job experience must be met as required under the statute.

·         voluntary service will not fulfill this requirement.

·         proper documentation must be produced.

2.      The post must be a traditional religious function.

·         if not, required training for the position must be approved by the governing body of the religion and directly relate to this denomination’s creed.

3.      The church must submit a valid job offer and include the following details:

·         proof that the church is a legitimate organization.

·         confirmation of the petitioner’s ability to pay the proffered wage in fulfillment of the requirements of 8 CFR §204.5(g)(2).

4.      The religious organization must establish tax-exempt status as required by

IRS codes §501(c) (3) and §170(b)(1)(A)(i).

·         note:  if a case has been denied by the AAO solely because the petitioner was not a “church,” a Motion to Reopen should be filed.

The summary also includes discussion of the decisions (mostly denials) of some specific cases included in the report.