Visa change clears way for Brazilian pastor’s Texas return

GORDON, Texas (BP)—Albert Oliveira is back in the pulpit of his Texas pastorate after having voluntarily returned to his Brazilian homeland in late 2025 before his visa expired.

Previously, he and his family were required to remain in Brazil a year before reapplying for a nonimmigrant R-1 religious worker visa, but a change in the law in January allowed him to acquire a new visa and return to his pastorate at First Baptist Church of Gordon.

“It did make things a lot easier,” he told Baptist Press. “But it’s definitely not a solution. But it at least allowed for me and everyone involved to be able to make long-term plans with their churches, to be able to dream together.”

He praises God for the change, but believes churches could focus more on spreading the gospel if they didn’t have to jump through so many hoops to retain the foreign-born pastors God has provided.

“What we do want to see is a smooth and fair immigration system that is safe for the nation, that is safe for those that are receiving those pastors,” he said, “but allows for the churches that are struggling to hire qualified pastors … for them to find people that are passionate about ministry without having to spend years dividing their time and thought and effort with immigration or bureaucracy.

“And in terms of religious liberty, I believe that churches should be able to have the option to have a pastor from a different country if that’s what they believe that they need.”

A multicultural ministry

Oliveira is among thousands of foreign-born religious workers in the U.S. on nonimmigrant R-1 religious visas, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Specifically, there were 19,000 such visa holders in the U.S. when DHS updated the rule.

Under the new rule, R-1 religious workers must still leave the U.S. if their visa expires before renewal, but they can reapply immediately. R-1 visas are active for up to five years.

“Pastors, priests, nuns, and rabbis are essential to the social and moral fabric of this country,” the DHS said in announcing the change under then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem. “We remain committed to finding ways to support and empower these organizations in their critical work.”

Oliveira, his German-born wife Caroline, and their 4-year-old U.S-born son Elliott returned to Gordon in April amid a hero’s welcome, complete with escorts by fire and police department personnel as residents lined the sidewalks and cheered.

First Baptist Gordon has continued to grow spiritually and numerically, Oliveira said, continuing to baptize new believers. The growth has required the church to establish a Church Growth Committee, he said, and has created the need for larger facilities.

“Everybody’s just playing musical chairs with the rooms, trying to find a place for everyone,” he said. “And it’s sort of a really good problem that we have right now.”

Faith, immigration, and a global mission

Oliveira sees many benefits in foreign-born pastors serving in the U.S. Churches focused on missions gain leaders with missional mindsets, eager to reach and welcome immigrants here.

“If you want to reach the nations, you gain a religious worker who knows what it’s like to receive a missionary, to receive the gospel in a different culture,” he said.

“I, for example, accepted Christ by the work of missionaries from North Carolina in Brazil. I know what it’s like to receive a team of American missionaries in my house, and I know the challenges of the local pastor after they leave.”

Employing foreign-born pastors also “sends a message to the community,” Oliveira said, “that the church is welcoming to different cultures, different languages, different accents, and that already attracts people to the church. It also brings different knowledge in a way seminaries can’t teach you tangibly, how to deal with the different cultures.”

Oliveira retained his pastorate from afar, preaching online and holding meetings virtually. He proclaims God’s faithfulness as a motivation to continue leading the Texas church.

“In spite of all the challenges that we’ve had, in spite of dealing with people that don’t understand this struggle, and dealing with immigration challenges, dealing with all the changes that happen quite often,” he said, “we see God at work, and we see lives transformed.”

“And we see people being baptized. We see people coming to Christ. We see families restored. Who wouldn’t be encouraged by that.”

He sees his family’s struggle as comparable to that of the early church in Acts.

“If the challenge is immigration, and if the challenge is government changes, those are things that the early Christians had to deal with, too,” he said. “It’s nothing new. And to be able to get up in the morning and know that God has provided, that’s what keeps us going.”