Polish pastor: Staying under INS rules means 'lots of paperwork'

By Mary Garrigan, Journal staff | Saturday, July 19, 2008

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As a Polish priest serving a U.S. diocese, the Rev. Andrzej Wyrostek promises to obey his God, his bishop -- and the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service.

Wyrostek, 37, is an associate pastor at Blessed Sacrament Church in Rapid City, one of five foreign-born priests who serve the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City.

Unlike the Rev. Cathal Gallagher -- a priest from Ireland whose paperwork problems with the INS nearly cost him his job as pastor of churches in De Smet, Iroquois and Arlington in the Diocese of Sioux Falls -- Wyrostek has never had any problems complying with INS requirements.

The INS had threatened to deport Gallagher from the United States after 10 years here. On Friday, the state's congressional delegation reported that Gallagher had been granted a green card so he can stay in the U.S. permanently.

Gallagher was denied permanent residency in 2006. Two months ago, he was told he would have to return to his native Ireland. Friday's decision reversed that.

Wyrostek has never met Gallagher, but he said he'd been following Gallagher's immigration issues.

"There's lots of paperwork to be done, that's true, but if you follow all of it, you don't have any trouble," Wyrostek said.

Many foreign-born men are among the newest Catholic priests in the U.S. One-third of the men ordained in 2008 were born outside the U.S., according to a survey by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University. The largest numbers come from Mexico, Vietnam, Poland and the Philippines. On average, they had lived in the U.S. for 13 years.

Several priests from India serve in the Sioux Falls Diocese. The Rapid City Diocese has three Polish-born priests currently serving here: Wyrostek and the Rev. Janusz Korban at Blessed Sacrament in Rapid City, and the Rev. Marcin Garbacz at St. Joseph's in Faith. All three men were ordained for this diocese with the intention of becoming U.S. citizens. Korban is already a naturalized U.S. citizen. Two priests from Uganda, the Revs. John Lule and Godfrey Muwanga, also serve the diocese but are not "incardinated" by it, meaning they don't belong to it. Lule is assigned to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral in Rapid City; Muwanga to churches in Spearfish and Belle Fourche.

A diocesan spokeswoman for Rapid City said the diocese adheres to INS rules and guidelines regarding their immigration status but considers it a personal matter and would not comment on it.

Wyrostek said he came to the U.S. as a seminarian on a student visa in 1995. When he was ordained in 2000, he was issued a work permit visa for five years, before getting permanent residency and a green card three years ago.

The "green" card is no longer green -- although historically, it was. Now, it looks like a driver's license or credit card, and it affords its owner many of the constitutional rights that citizenship does, except for the right to vote, Wyrostek said.

In two years, he will be eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship. God -- and the INS -- willing, he expects to earn that sometime in 2010.