A North Texas pastor says his family is being forced to self-deport after changes to U.S. immigration rules under the Biden administration left him without a path to permanent residency.

Albert Oliveira, a native of Brazil and pastor at First Baptist Church in Gordon, says his R-1 religious visa expires Nov. 15. With no current way to adjust his status, he and his family plan to leave the country voluntarily on Nov. 9.

“For lack of better terms, it’s unfair, it’s just unfair,” Oliveira said.

Oliveira arrived in the U.S. on an R-1 visa in 2020, allowing him to work as a religious minister. Since then, he’s been applying for an EB-4 visa, which provides a path to a green card for certain special immigrants, including religious workers.

However, in March 2023, the Biden administration expanded eligibility for the EB-4 visa to include a large number of applicants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras. As a result, Oliveira says the backlog has grown so dramatically that it could take up to 20 years for his case to be processed.

“That’s what caused the problem, was the overloading of the line,” Oliveira said.

His wife, Caroline Schuster Oliveira, is from Germany. Their son was born in the U.S. and is a citizen. The couple said they’ve spent most of their adult lives in America and never expected to leave under these circumstances.

“I’ve also been in the U.S. for over 16 years, so our whole adulthood really we’ve spent in the United States,” Caroline said. “So it’s hard to go back to a culture that we’re not even used to anymore.”

Despite their frustration, the Oliveiras say they want to follow the law. They’ll spend at least one year outside the U.S. before Albert is eligible to apply for another five-year R-1 visa.

In the meantime, the family will return to Brazil and attempt to continue church services in Gordon remotely.

“If the consequence of that is us leaving, then we know that God has a plan and we know that he will provide,” Albert said. “And if he wants us back, he’ll bring us back.”

NBC 5 has reached out to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regarding the changes to the EB-4 visa program and is awaiting a response.