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DPH plans 2-year contracts for foreign hires
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Posted on Feb 19 2009
The Department of Public Health is planning to give two-year contracts to foreign nurses and other non-U.S. citizen employees in light of the start of the transition to a federal immigration system come June 1, unless delayed.
This was among the key statements by Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez during a meeting with employees last week to discuss federalization issues, according to sources.
“Right now it’s only a plan. This is to accommodate non-U.S. citizen employees even after June 1 or Nov. 28, depending on when the transition period begins,” one of the sources said yesterday.
Hundreds of DPH employees are not U.S. citizens, and some of them earlier expressed concern that they may lose their jobs once CNMI immigration comes under federal control as early as June 1.
Press secretary Charles P. Reyes yesterday said there is nothing surprising about DPH choosing two-year contracts for its nonresident employees for the same reasons a private company opting to do so.
The CNMI Division of Immigration recently issued amendments to the CNMI immigration rules and regulations that allow for, among other things, two-year permits for foreign workers, immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and permanent residents, foreign investors and foreign students.
The regulations also state that the Immigration director shall make available automatic two-year permits for permanent residents of the CNMI should permitting be required for any reason.
The two-year permits are meant to give IRs and other foreigners more time to secure their stay even after the federal government takes over CNMI immigration as early as June 2009. Employers are also assured that they will still have their foreign employees for at least two years from the date of the transition, giving them more time to secure a more permanent status for needed workers.
