DOLI to relax ATB regs US visa holders may be exempt

Foreign nationals who have U.S. visas need not secure an Authorization to Board letter from the Department of Labor and Immigration to come into the Commonwealth once an amendment to the ATB regulations is finally adopted.

The proposed amendment also incorporates other provisions that would relax the strict requirement to secure an ATB.

Labor and Immigration Secretary Joaquin A. Tenorio yesterday said that the proposal is being considered “very highly” and that it may just take “a week or so” before the new policy becomes effective.

“We’re going to put it into regulation. This is being done by the Attorney General’s Office,” Tenorio said.

This came after the secretary met with the Marianas Visitors Authority and the Philippine Consulate General on Saipan.

Applications for ATBs have been causing inconvenience to many visiting tourists, who need to have this document with them so they can be allowed to enter the CNMI. These tourists include visitors of Filipino nonresident workers, which comprise the bulk of the Commonwealth’s workforce.

ATBs are required of a foreigner visiting the CNMI if he is a national of a country included in the DOLI’s list of those excluded from entering into the islands. Tenorio said the list was based on the U.S. State Department’s file.

The U.S. government has been strictly monitoring nationals of countries included in the list as it enforces strict security measures following the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The list includes China, the Philippines, Russia, Thailand, North Korea, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Other countries are: Afghanistan, Albania, Arabia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Latvia, Libya, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malaysia, Montenegro, Moldova, Mongolia and Myanmar.

The rest are: Nepal, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Poland, Qatar, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Slovakia, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, West Bank, the former Republic of Yugoslavia, and Yemen.

If a national of any of these countries possesses a valid U.S. visa, he will be allowed entry into the CNMI even without an ATB once the proposed amendment to the regulation takes effect.

Tenorio said that since these foreigners are allowed entry in the United States, the CNMI should allow them entry into the islands, as well.

“We’re almost finished,” he said. “It’s just trying to follow the previous [ATB regulation] but we’re adding others that we consider [that] do not pose any threat to us.”

He added that the amendment may also include other provisions that would relax the strict requirement for securing an ATB, depending on certain circumstances.

“Example: a Philippine national, if he stays in Guam for a long time, we do not need any ATB if you come from Guam,” he said. “This is a reasonable action that we’re trying to take because people are concerned, like some Filipino nationals [who are] permanent resident[s] of Japan; right now, we require that we have ATBs but we’re considering that we could eliminate that.”

Tenorio stressed, though, that the public should not be mislead that the proposal is already in effect, since it still needs to be adopted as a regulation before it becomes effective.

Recently, the department has banned the hiring of new nonresident workers of certain nationalities in the Commonwealth, particularly Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, and Chinese coming from China’s Fujian Province, citing the need to safeguard national security.