Washington D.C., May 4, 2021 / 11:00 am
The Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, says that four immigrant priests will be forced to return to their home countries for 12 months, due to visa renewal delays in the United States.
Five Vermont parishes will be left without a priest in residence due to the development. A spokesperson for the diocese explained that the visa renewal process currently takes much longer than it used to.
“We were recently informed that the [visa renewal] process now takes four times longer for several reasons: stricter screening process, reduction of staff to process applications, and the pandemic/remote work," Ellen Kane, executive director of development & communication for the Diocese of Burlington, told CNA on Tuesday.
According to the diocese, visa renewal applications for the priests were submitted within the typical timeframe, but now will not be renewed in time.