SALIENT POINTS OF DRAFT TAKEOVER PROPOSAL

Recently President Bill Clinton’s special representative to the 902 talks, Edward B. Cohen, presented to the CNMI a draft federal takeover proposal which the White House intends to submit to the US Congress for consideration.

Proposed to be called the “Northern Mariana Islands Labor and Immigration Reform Act”, the draft seeks to extend to the Commonwealth federal immigration, minimum wage and customs laws.

• Implementation of the US Immigration and Nationality Act will commence one year after the enactment of the legislation, with provisions allowing a 10-year transition period.

• The US attorney general, in consultation with the secretaries of the Departments of State, Labor and Interior, will have the sole power of establishing and administering a transition program.

• During the transition period, the federal government will be in charge of the issuance of nonimmigrant temporary alien worker visas, as well as family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visas.

Minimum wage

• Thirty days after the approval of the law, CNMI should raise 60 cents to $3.65 the current local minimum wage.

• Every January 1, local minimum wage should be increased 30 cents until it reaches the US minimum wage level.

Application of INA

• CNMI can continue to hire aliens of immigrant and nonimmigrant categories subject to conditions applicable to the admission to the US, for example, professionals, treaty traders, investors and their employees, intra-company transferees such as managers and executive, highly-skilled individuals, and temporary agricultural workers, and especially important for construction and other industries.

• Normal numerical limitation on H-2B temporary workers under INA will be waived if US labor and lawfully admissible citizens from FAS are unavailable to meet the manpower demand for labor sensitive industries such as the construction industry.

• Temporary guest workers admitted to the CNMI during the transition period will be allowed to transfer employers.

• A separate transition program will be put in place for the orderly phase-out of current temporary foreign workers in the Northern Marianas. Allocation of temporary work permits will be decreased annually subject to the discretion of the US secretary of labor.

• Nonimmigrant visas issued to aliens will not be valid to the US.

• Aliens admitted as nonimmigrants under INA will be allowed to seek adjustment in status to be able to enter the US.

• Guest workers issued employment-based visa on the basis of “exceptional circumstances” would be admitted to work only in the CNMI during the first five years, but may apply for immigrant visa or admission to the US.

• Aliens who have obtained permanent resident status under the transition program but has been blacklisted by local employers for lawful labor activities can apply for a waiver of the five-year limitation.

• Any alien granted permanent residence under the five-year employment visa may apply for admission anywhere in the US, and if qualified for naturalization, may count the five-year period in the CNMI to meet the requirements for such purpose.

• Five-year employment-based visa issued to hotel workers may be extended after the expiration of the 10-year transition period depending on the need of the industry.

• Any alien who files for an asylum in the CNMI will be restricted to stay in the Northern Marianas, otherwise application will be considered abandoned.

Duty free treatment and use of “Made in USA” labels

• Apparel products will be allowed to carry “Made in USA” labels if factories are certified by the US Department of Labor.

• Garment manufacturers must meet the employment requirement to be able to retain duty free privilege and use labels.

• Factories certified by the DOL will be allowed to use “Made in USA” labels if they employ 50 percent US labor and citizens from FAS, with three-year phase-in period.

• Garment employers who fail to meet the requirement will be allowed to meet requirements but with longer phase-in period starting at 25 percent, increasing 5 percent annually.

• Apparel makers who are not certified by the DOL and illegally use “Made in USA” labels will be sanctioned unless owners pay 50 cents in additional hourly wage and another 50 cents to a general fund, which will be used for the repatriation of workers abandoned by garment employers.