‘CW has no effect in entire US’

Tourists take turns in having their photos taken at the Saipan signage located at the side of the road that’s going to Bird Island and Grotto in Marpi. Labor issues in the CNMI could have a direct impact to the tourism industry, which is the main source of funds for the islands. (Jon Perez)

Marianas Visitors Authority managing director Chris Concepcion believes federal authorities in Washington, D.C. should be further educated on the current situation of the CW program, being a specific visa classification reserved only for the CNMI.

The CW visa, or the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker Nonimmigrant visa, allows foreign nationals temporary but renewable work permits for one year only in the three main islands of the Commonwealth—Saipan, Tinian, and Rota.

The Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, one of the local business groups that testified in U.S. Congress regarding the CNMI’s labor issues, had already employed more U.S. workers to date.

HANMI president Gloria Cavanagh said their group as a whole only has less than 44 percent, and not more than 50 percent as was reported in the Saipan Tribune the other day, who are foreign workers.

“This includes visas other than CW. Many people think that we employ mostly CWs. But a large portion of our foreign workers included other visas such as H1s, L1s, and E2s,” the Pacific Islands Club Saipan general manager added.

The CW program was part of the immigration reforms that was initiated in 2009 when the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 became Public Law 110-229. It also transferred the CNMI’s control of immigration and labor to the federal government.

“We must make policymakers in D.C. know and realize our dilemma. We must teach them to differentiate the CNMI from all other parts of the [U.S.],” Concepcion told Saipan Tribune.

“At the end of the day we are completely different from any other state, territory, or commonwealth. The CW program is specific to the CNMI and by law; CW visa holders are prohibited from entering other parts of the U.S.”

He added that the CW program wouldn’t have any impact in the mainland U.S. when it comes to immigration and labor. “So, I don’t see what’s the problem with extending it [CW program] and lifting cap on workers will be since it won’t affect the rest of the U.S. regardless.”

“Leaders in [D.C.] need to be educated on that and greater effort needs to be made to differentiate us from others. There is no national threat to immigration by extending the CW program and lifting the cap on total workers because it is CNMI specific,” he said.

CNMI government officials with local business groups have been pushing for legislation in the U.S. Congress—S. 2325 introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)—in the hopes it would pass to solve the impending labor woes of the islands.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had drastically cut the CW cap for the 2019 fiscal year from 12,998 to 4,999 after they implemented a lottery system on which applications would be approved after receiving petitions more than the numerical limit.

Concepcion said the current situation concerns the local tourism industry and at the same time lauded the efforts of the local leaders in finding a solution to the problem.

“The CW crisis is indeed concerning for the tourism industry since our industry is heavily reliant on manpower and without an adequate workforce, we can’t function. We applaud Gov. [Ralph DLG] Torres and other local leaders for their efforts at pushing our agenda in Washington,” he said.