Previous Story
Workers’ visa concerns to be discussed in DC conference
Immigration concerns of foreign workers in the CNMI will be one of the major talking points at the 2015 Senior Plenary Session of the Interagency Group on Insular Areas in Washington, D.C.
Lt. Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres will represent Gov. Eloy S. Inos in the conference, according to acting press secretary Ivan Blanco.
Blanco said the government recognizes the need to plan ahead regarding these immigration concerns as 2019 is “just four years away.”
In 2011, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services established the Transitional Worker nonimmigrant visa classification for foreign workers in the CNMI.
Employers of nonimmigrant workers who are ineligible for other employment-based nonimmigrant visa can apply for temporary permission to employ workers in the CNMI under this new classification, which is scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2019.
After 2019, many workers may have to leave the Commonwealth or apply for another kind of visa.
Blanco said Torres will give a briefing to the governor as soon as he comes back from the meeting this March.
The question lingering among private and public sector stakeholders is what is going to happen after 2019, when foreign workers will have to leave the CNMI or apply for a new visa.
The concern becomes even more significant, with the expected influx of investments from foreign businesses, particularly in the area of tourism.
Blanco said by 2019, the Commonwealth is likely to still depend on foreign workers to fill the thousands of jobs that are expected to open up once foreign investors start building resorts and other recreational establishments.
The approval of a casino law on Saipan is also expected to lure more investments. An exclusive casino license has already been granted to Best Sunshine Ltd.
