GUEST WORKER NEWS

November 5, 2009

The United Worker Movement NMI will set up a support center to assist guest workers in submitting comments on the recently released rules from DHS. The center will be held at the Fiestang Pinoy by Juvy Restaurant across Saipan Grand Hotel on Beach Road, Susupe on the following Fridays from 6:00 p.m -10:00 p.m:

November 13

November 20

November 27

The center will have computers, with translators to assist in different languages like Tagalog, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Korean, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, and Hindi.

From the Saipan Tribune:

The group said it plans to facilitate the submission of comments by centralizing the receipt of all comments and submitting them to the Department of Homeland Security.

“We have a lot of concerns regarding the transitional worker program for the CNMI that we need to bring to the Department of Homeland Security's attention. We have a very small time to submit comments on the rules and regulation of this program. We are asking all brothers and sisters to come up with their comments [and] concerns before Nov. 25, 2009,” the group said in a statement.

The United Workers Movement NMI-an umbrella group composed of Pilcowa, Dekada and other worker's leaders-will be setting up a support center that will help alien workers who want to give comments on the transitional worker program.

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The guest workers may not be able to vote, but they can comment. Be sure to post your comment before the deadline. There are a few comments already posted on the Regulations Website. Most are from guest workers.

Here is a comment that Malou submitted that has not been posted yet:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Department of Homeland Security
111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 3008
Washington, DC 20528-2060

RE: Docket Number-USCIS-2008-0038

Thank you for the giving me the chance to participate in this comment process for Transitional Workers Program for the CNMI in accordance to provisions of Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008.

Under III-A&F, the section concerning hiring abroad of workers. At present, according to the Department of Labor, CNMI, there are about 13,000 holders of CNMI permit and more or less 3,000 whose CNMI permits are on process, not to mention the foreign workers who are holding temporary permit and some still waiting for their unclaimed wages and unsettled labor cases.

Please be it known to you that some CNMI Permit holders do not have job for quite some time now due to different reasons and circumstances. May I therefore recommend that bringing in more workers under CW-1 status abroad should be deleted in this regulations? Utilize and/or prioritize foreign workers who are on-islands if no available U.S. citizens for job vacancy. By opening your door in hiring abroad, I can see more schemes and scams in bringing in new workers. Likewise, this maybe another way to squeeze money from foreign workers who want to work in U.S. soil and this would add up to human trafficking cases in CNMI which some are not yet resolved. Also, this could give a sort of protection or security on the part of long term guest workers. Under this section also, the CNMI must not increase the total number of alien workers present in CNMI and should reduced the number of grants of CW-1 status.

Under III-D, Petitioning Procedures-It would be easier and cheaper for the employer to petition more than one worker on the same form as long as employees are all working for the same period of time and in same location regardless of the occupational category as long as the employees to be petitioned are already in CNMI. With this, the employers could easily transfer all their employees that are ineligible under INA qualifications that are currently holding CNMI permits. And consequently will result in more orderly transition in phasing out the CNMI’s nonresident contract worker program.

Under III-F-Lawful Presence and Travel-As the rule states: CW-1 or CW-2 nonimmigrant may leave the CNMI and return, BUT must have appropriate visa for readmission. The rule should allow holders of CW-1 and CW-2 to leave and re-enter CNMI without obtaining another visa from country of origin since these permits would be issued by Department of Homeland Security.

Since the DHS allowed the foreign workers to work and stay in CNMI up to the validity of their permit, then it should be therefore acceptable on your Department to use this permit to leave and re-enter CNMI. It is clearly stated in the permit issued by Division of Immigration, CNMI that this is an “ENTRY PERMIT”. I suggest that DHS could just give a sort of a visa waiver provided that any foreign workers who wish to travel with CNMI Entry Permit must notify 2 weeks in advance your office here in Saipan, CNMI about their travel and you could just require them to submit additional requirements like: CNMI Entry Permit that still valid for 90 days; valid passport; airline ticket to show itinerary and country where the foreign workers and his/her dependent will be travelling.

If visa waiver became possible for Chinese and Russians nationals, how could it be impossible to give the same kind to aliens workers who came in legally and have worked and lived here some more than decades?=

To reduce CW-1 permits holder yearly and to zero out the aliens workers by December 31, 2014, may I therefore recommend that an IMPROVED STATUS for long term guest workers, who became and still significant part of the CNMI economy and have been an important part of this community be recognized by giving them a more permanent status.

If the DHS/USCIS was able to create a special visa like E-2 CNMI Only, CW-1 CNMI Only, visa waiver for Chinese and Russians, I do believe you can also create another type of status not under INA, which maybe called PRC-CNMI Only. PRC-CNMI Only will stand for Permanent Resident Cardholder-CNMI only for a period of 3 years and after 3 years those that who have shown to be lawful and productive resident of CNMI may adjust his/her status to a U.S. citizen. Need a petitioner? Then let our U.S. citizen friends and relatives be our own petitioner.

In conclusion, the proposed rule should change the hiring abroad of additional foreign workers; permitting the foreign workers to travel with the CNMI Entry Permit with Visa Waiver and how to easily and orderly manner the employers can transit their employees and to provide a more permanent status for long term guest workers.

Sincerely yours,

Maria Lourdes H. Berueco

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If you stop by to make a comment, please also sign the new petition requesting status!

If you can't make it to the meeting you can send in your comments.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0038 by one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: You may submit comments directly to USCIS by e-mail at rfs.regs@dhs.gov. Include DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0038 in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Chief, Regulatory Products Division, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529-2210. To ensure proper handling, please reference DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0038 on your correspondence. This mailing address may be used for paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529-2210. Contact Telephone Number is (202) 272 8377.