Can an R-1 Hindu priest perform private pujas for money in the USA? A home ceremony is not automatically prohibited, but R-1 workers cannot freely take independent paid work. The sponsoring employer, approved duties, work locations and payment arrangement can determine whether the work is authorized.
Hindu priests in the United States are often invited to homes for weddings, housewarmings, Satyanarayana pujas and other ceremonies. But for a priest in R-1 religious worker status, accepting payment for a private puja is not simply a question of whether the work is religious.
The key issue is who is employing the priest and whether the work falls within the approved R-1 employment arrangement.
Private pujas are not automatically prohibited
Federal R-1 regulations require the religious worker to come to the United States to work for the petitioning organization and prohibit work in another capacity except through properly authorized additional religious employment.
That means performing a puja at a family's home is not automatically unauthorized merely because it occurs outside a temple.
If home ceremonies are part of the priest's duties for the sponsoring temple, the situation can be very different from a priest independently advertising services and accepting outside jobs.
Can an R-1 priest accept dakshina directly?
This is where the arrangement matters.
R-1 petitions must disclose whether compensation is salaried or non-salaried, provide details of that compensation and identify proposed employment locations.
The regulations do not create a separate immigration exception simply called “dakshina” or “honorarium.” Therefore, calling a payment a donation or dakshina does not by itself determine whether the underlying work is authorized.
A priest independently taking private bookings and receiving payment outside the approved employment arrangement could create an unauthorized-employment issue.
What if another temple pays the priest?
An R-1 worker cannot receive compensation for work for another religious organization unless that organization has an approved petition covering the worker. Federal regulations allow multiple qualifying religious employers, but each must complete the required petition process.
USCIS has also stated that changes in employment location may require an amended petition when they materially change the terms or conditions of the approved employment.
Temple-arranged services are different
A temple may send its priest to perform ceremonies for devotees as part of the priest's authorized religious duties. The immigration question then centers on whether those services, locations and compensation remain consistent with the approved petition.
By contrast, operating an independent paid puja service outside the sponsoring employer is much harder to reconcile with employer-specific R-1 authorization.
Because individual petitions differ, an R-1 priest considering personally paid outside ceremonies should review the approved petition and obtain qualified immigration advice before accepting independent compensation.
Reviewed against current R-1 regulations and USCIS guidance on September 19, 2026. This article provides general information and is not individualized legal advice.
