Only 2-7% of alien workers will get visas

Under the federalization law, only 2 to 7 percent of foreign workers will get U.S. visas while 132 labor and immigration personnel will lose jobs, according to the governor’s special legal counsel Howard Willens.

In his power point presentation to the Legislature, a copy of which was obtained by Saipan Tribune on Friday, Willens said H-1 visas require advanced academic credentials, while H-2 visas are for “temporary” intermittent work.

He said the persons qualified for H-1 visas are accountants, computer programmers, engineers, architects, and teachers.

Qualified for H-2 visas, Willens said, are entertainers, construction project workers, trainers, and persons involved in limited time contracts.

The special legal counsel said currently there are 18,942 alien workers in the CNMI and that if 2 percent of the current on-island foreign workers qualify for visas, only 379 will be available.

He said if 7 percent qualify for visas, only 1,326 alien workers will be available.

Willens said the CNMI economy needs 30,000 workers to function at a level that produces a reasonable U.S.-equivalent standard of living.

He said CNMI, however, currently has only 11,000 U.S. citizen workers and 900 permanent resident workers.

The special legal counsel cited that due to out-migration U.S. citizen worker population has been steady for 10 years, while permanent resident worker population has been decreasing for five years.

Willens said off-island foreign workers who qualify for H-visas will go to the U.S. or Guam if possible.

With respect to immigration issue, the lawyer said the federalization law will cause higher immigration fees for employers or over $3,000.

This, he said, will also cause loss of immigration fees to CNMI government.

On loss of 80 jobs at the Immigration Division, Willens said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s jobs require U.S.-based training and that no such training is available until June 2009.

The training, he said, takes nine to 12 months if DHS elects to provide.

He said the ripple effects from loss of jobs are further out-migration from CNMI, loss of tax revenues, and loss of consumer demand.

With respect to economic effects to local Labor, Willens said the reduction of foreign workers now on island under CNMI entry permits to zero.

“The possible extension for five years or even 10 years does not change the mandated reduction to zero,” he said.

The other effect, he said, is loss of labor fees to CNMI government.

On loss of 52 jobs at the Department of Labor, Willens said DHS might utilize some current Labor employees, but that they have not yet considered this option in any detail.

He said higher paid (dual wage scale) federal workers will move to Saipan.

Willens said CNMI will have no control of decisions which businesses get foreign worker permits.

“DHS might permit CNMI government to participate in this decision-making process, but they are not now inclined to do so,” he said.

DHS, he pointed out, would always retain a veto power.

During the closed-door presentation, Willens tried to convince the Legislature to provide funding of about $400,000 in an eight-month period that he said the administration will need to pursue the litigation against the federalization law.

The top leaders of the House of Representatives—Speaker Arnold Palacios and Vice Speaker Joseph P. Deleon Gurrero—on Thursday spoke in unison to express their strong opposition to the administration’s request to support the lawsuit. They said the CNMI should engage the federal government in dialogue instead of pursuing a costly but uncertain court action.