Delay in CW permits ‘is messed up’

Almost five months since the filing of petitions for over 11,000 foreign workers by the November deadline, most CNMI employees have yet to hear from the federal government whether they will be able to keep their long-term nonresident employees.

“It’s disappointing. It’s messed up,” said Allen Xie, president of ACA Corp., which owns a wholesale company and the “I Love Saipan” retail store in Garapan.

In an interview yesterday, Xie said their wholesale firm submitted Commonwealth-only worker petitions in October—a month before the Nov. 28, 2011, deadline—but they have yet to receive a biometrics appointment for their foreign workers.

Of the estimated 35 foreign workers at their retail and wholesale businesses, he said that not a single one has received a CW permit.

“For the retail store, we received information about biometrics schedule only last week. Our employees who have medical emergencies are having a hard time because of travel requirements. These are creating uncertainty. It’s hard to plan for new investments. Even if a business has money, if they know the processing of workers’ permits will take long, then they will not invest yet. We are a legitimate business but we don’t know if our workers will get their permits,” Xie added.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reported that as of March 20, there have been 417 CW petitions approved covering 591 beneficiaries. The 591 with CW permits is only 5 percent of the 11,677 workers petitioned for CW status.

“It’s a concern for any human resource director,” Triple J Saipan Inc. human resources director Frank Ada said.

With CW petitions still being processed, businesses and their foreign workers remain locked in uncertainty. USCIS earlier imposed a Jan. 31 deadline on itself to complete the processing of CW petitions filed on or before Nov. 28.

Ada said there were instances wherein Triple J was asked by USCIS to provide information about the company’s business gross revenue and tax ID number, for example, to support a petition for a certain foreign worker. However, the petition submitted for other employees in the same category were approved without being asked to provide BGR and tax ID number.

In some cases, the additional information asked were “petty,” Ada said.

For example, in one of the petitions filed on behalf of a foreign worker, Triple J was asked whether it’s a member of any non-profit organization. Triple J is a member of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, among other groups.

“We were thinking, what if we’re not a member of any group such as the Chamber of Commerce, would our petition be rejected? But Triple J is a legitimate business. Should membership in a non-profit group be a factor in deciding whether to approve or not a CW petition?” Ada asked.

However, regardless of the type of information requested by USCIS, Ada said Triple J has been providing all the information needed.

“What can we do but comply? We don’t want to delay the process any longer,” Ada added.

Of the 65 CW petitions they’ve submitted to USCIS for 78 foreign workers, more than half have yet to be approved, Ada said.

“Fortunately, the applications were submitted before Nov. 28 so they could continue to work while the petitions are being processed. But we are also trying to get new workers from abroad, after we looked and did not get available workers here. But the turnaround time is not as quick as we would like,” he said.

He said the prolonged processing of CW petitions could be part of “growing pains” of a new transitional program.

Daisy Cruz, a 43-year-old sales accounting clerk, said she applied for a $360 advance parole because her CW petition has yet to be adjudicated months after the application was filed. She had planned a vacation in the Philippines to attend her daughter’s March 24 high school graduation.

“At the time, I was already worried that I won’t be able to go home because I didn’t have my CW permit yet. That’s why I applied for advance parole. But only a day after my advance parole arrived on April 3, I also got my CW permit. But they both arrived late for me to attend my daughter’s graduation,” she said.

Besides missing her lone child’s graduation, Cruz also spent an extra $360 for the advance parole. Because she now has a CW permit, she needs to apply for a CW visa at the U.S. Embassy in Manila for $150.

“Of course it was disappointing that I just got my CW permit after I already spent $360 for an advance parole,” said Cruz, who has been working on Saipan for three and a half years.

Despite all these, Cruz said she would still go home to see her family on April 17. She has already brought a $770 roundtrip ticket, and now needs to apply for a CW visa at the U.S. Embassy in Manila. She wishes that her CW visa application gets approved so she could return to the CNMI to work.

Charles Cepeda, general manager of Pacific Trading Co. and a former president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said their company got approved for five of seven CW permits applied for despite similar information provided for all these applications.

Cepeda said the processing of CW petitions is taking longer than anticipated, and this is affecting business plans.

“Everywhere you go, the CW permit is an issue and it is impacting the economy. Businesses are not sure if their workers will get a CW permit. I also have employees who want to go on vacation but couldn’t make a decision because of uncertainty regarding travel documents,” he said.

Nancy Del Gallego, a cashier, said she has yet to receive a biometrics appointment as of last week.

“I’m a bit worried now. A lot of people I know already had their biometrics but not me,” said Gallego, who has been working on Saipan for 14 years.

She added that all she wants is to be able to continue working on Saipan legally, and is not after any improved immigration status. “But if they give us improved status, then we should be thankful,” she added.

Mel Biascan, who has been on Saipan for 20 years and now works as a waitress, said she also has yet to receive a biometrics appointment and this is also starting to worry her. “It’s hard to plan not knowing whether you will have a CW permit or not,” she said.

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the largest business organization in the CNMI, is looking forward to a session with USCIS to discuss the CW program implementation.

“The Chamber has initiated communication with USCIS to present a seminar…to address the ongoing CNMI CW-1 visa program’s implementation, application process and problems to date. SCC will submit employer questions in advance, and there will be a helpful Q&A at that seminar,” said Chamber president Douglas Brennan in a statement.

On April 20, the Chamber will be hosting a luncheon forum with USCIS regional director David Gulick, from 11:30am to 1pm at the Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan.

The Chamber said Gulick is expected to provide SCC members a status report on the ongoing CNMI CW-1 visa application process and address current concerns from CNMI employers.

Rep. Tony Sablan (R-Saipan), a former CNMI immigration director, said the current CW program “places all these businesses and employees at the mercy of USCIS.”

“Obviously, it wasn’t foreseen that the process will take this long. They required employers to submit by Nov. 28 but months later, they still don’t know whether their application is approved or not. There should be an alternative process to do this,” he said.

Since last year, Sablan has asked for an alternative CW permit processing that is easier and more convenient for employers and employees. That’s because the CNMI’s situation is unique, he said.

“It’s unacceptable to believe that with all the resources of the federal government at its disposal, it cannot give the attention needed to process all these applications. I question the failure of the federal government not to anticipate this. Three years after federalization, we are still in limbo,” he added.

Uly Morales, a commercial cleaner who has yet to receive a biometrics appointment, said he held off his planned vacation in March because of a lack of a CW permit.

“I hope by May or July, I would have my CW permit so I can go on vacation. It’s hard to go on vacation if you don’t have your permit yet. That’s worrying me,” he added.

A May 2008 U.S. law placed CNMI immigration under federal control effective Nov. 28, 2009. The regulations to fully implement the federalization were published in September 2011, two months before the deadline for filing most transitional CW petitions on behalf of foreign workers still needed by CNMI businesses. The transition period ends in 2014.