Aug. 17 deadline to apply for long-term resident status

Some foreigners in the CNMI could be given long-term resident status provided they meet specific qualifications and apply before Aug. 17, 2020.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services held a virtual outreach session last Thursday, participated in by 269 people, to provide and clarify information on eligibility requirements and the application process, and to answer questions, mostly from long-time workers in the CNMI who want to avail of the new status.

“Spouses and parents of U.S. citizens, in-home caregivers, certain stateless individuals, and persons given resident status under Commonwealth law in the early 1980s can live and work permanently in the Marianas [through the] Northern Mariana Islands Long-Term Legal Residents Relief Act,” Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) stated. “But you must apply by Aug. 17. After that the permanent resident status will no longer be available. …This is the only opportunity and Aug. 17 is the deadline to apply. Applications postmarked after that date will not be accepted.”

The delegate also added that USCIS officials, during the session, emphasized that applicants must submit two forms: Form I-955, Application for CNMI Long-Term Resident Status, and Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, along with required documents and fees to be considered for status; unless both forms are submitted together, the application will be rejected.

Who can qualify?
Under U.S. Public Law 116-24, or the Northern Mariana Islands Long-Term Legal Residents Relief Act, which Sablan authored, to be eligible for CNMI long-term resident status, a foreigner must qualify under at least one of several circumstances.
This include certain “stateless” individuals, or foreign nationals born in the CNMI between Jan. 1, 1974, and Jan. 9, 1978; and their immediate relatives: their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21.

CNMI permanent residents under CNMI immigration law, or individuals who were permanent residents in the CNMI on Nov. 27, 2009, may also qualify, along with their spouses and unmarried children under the age of 21. Also included are immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, or individuals who, on Nov. 27, 2011, were either a spouse, child, or parent of the U.S. citizen, and continue to such a family relationship with the citizen.

Caregivers of critical medical or special needs individuals in the CNMI who, on Dec. 31, 2018, had a grant of parole under the former USCIS parole program for certain in-home caregivers, also qualify, as well as those who have been lawfully present in the CNMI on Dec. 31, 2018, or June 25, 2019, under the immigration laws of the United States, including under a grant of parole of the Immigration and Nationality Act or deferred action.

They should be admissible as immigrants to the United States, except that no immigrant visa is required; have resided continuously and lawfully in the CNMI from Nov. 28, 2009, through June 25, 2019; and not be a citizen of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, or Palau.

Applying for long-term residency status
To apply for CNMI long-term resident status, a qualified individual must complete and submit Form I-955, including all evidence listed in it; and Form I-765.

USCIS Public Affairs officer Claire Nicholson, in an email for Saipan Tribune, reiterated that after Aug. 17, 2020, USCIS will not accept any Forms I-955.

Nicholson also stated that CNMI long-term residents may remain in the CNMI as long as they hold this status. They will lose status if they cease to reside in the CNMI, or adjust their status under section 245 of the INA to that of an “alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, or otherwise become a lawful permanent resident.”

They will also lose the status if they travel to Guam or elsewhere in the United States without permission, or travel outside the CNMI.

“CNMI long-term residents will automatically lose that status if they travel to Guam or elsewhere in the United States without advance permission, except for direct transit between the CNMI and foreign places through Guam,” she said.

Extension of parole
USCIS also announced last June 17 an automatic extension of parole, and employment authorization if applicable, for certain aliens in the CNMI.

Nicholson said that this applies to current parolees whose parole status expired on June 29, and that the automatic extension of parole (and employment authorization, if applicable) is through Aug. 17, 2020.

“For parolees who file for CNMI long-term resident status by Aug. 17, USCIS will announce additional relief while their application is pending. If a parolee does not file for CNMI long-term resident status by Aug. 17, their parole status will end on Aug. 17,” she said.

Concerns from CWs
With contracts soon expiring, and with no decision yet on their long-term residency application, CNMI-Transitional Only workers expressed concerns on whether they would need to exit, and if they do exit, if they will be allowed entry back to the CNMI.

In a Saipan Tribune interview, Malou Hernandez Berueco, moderator of the group Foreign Workers of the CNMI, and a U.S. permanent resident, said that some of these CWs are concerned if their applications for long-term residency will be affected should they decide to stay, and therefore, be out of status.

During the virtual outreach session, USCIS officials informed participants that having submitted the forms does not allow anyone to stay illegally in the CNMI.

According to USCIS, even if the applicants are already waiting for a decision on their long-term resident application, just having the Form I-955 and Form I-765 by itself does not allow someone to stay illegally in the CNMI at that point.

However, the officials also stated that they will not consider an applicant with a pending Form I-955 and Form I-765 as accruing unlawful presence for purposes of inadmissibility—but that is not to say that they can legally stay or that they are allowed to work in the U.S. If the forms are denied, the applicant will then have no legal status or parole, and at that point, unlawful presence will start accruing.

Some CWs who have to leave, specifically those who are pregnant and who have minor children, are also appealing if the “touchback” could be extended to a later date, given the high number of COVID-19 cases in their home countries.

Additional information on CNMI long-term residency status is available at https://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/cnmi-long-term-resident-status.