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Only 1,154 alien workers so far petitioned for CW status
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Posted on Nov 22 2011
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
Reporter
As of Thursday, Nov. 17, only 1,154 of an estimated 13,399 foreign workers in the CNMI who are “potentially eligible” for Commonwealth-only worker status have been petitioned by employers.
Corinna A. Luna, chief of the Business and Employment Services Branch, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, disclosed in a declaration filed in the U.S. District Court for the NMI that 616 Form I-129CW petitions have been received by USCIS from 172 employers in the CNMI.
Luna said the petitions were filed on behalf of 1,154 CW-1 beneficiaries.
The U.S. Department of Justice attached Luna’s declaration in its opposition to a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by a group of individuals who are asking the federal court to stop federal officials from implementing the CNMI-only Transitional Worker final rule.
Because of a tiny fraction of the estimated 13,399 foreign workers who are “potentially eligible” for CW status, USCIS has been beefing up its session for employers on how to file Form I-129CW.
As the Nov. 27 deadline to file Form I-129CW draws near, foreign workers who are still jobless are reportedly falling prey to “sponsorship” jobs offered by some manpower or individuals for payments of up to $1,000.
