Previous Story
CW petition only for those ‘lawfully present’ in the CNMI
|
Posted on Nov 29 2011
Form I-9 CNMI no longer valid
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter
Reporter
Nonresidents are only eligible for the Commonwealth-only worker classification if they are “lawfully present” in the CNMI, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said.
“A person is not ‘lawfully present’ if they are engaged in unauthorized employment, so yes, in this case for an application filed after Nov. 28, USCIS would deny the I-129CW petition on this basis,” said USCIS regional media manager Marie Therese Sebrechts.
Sebrechts said there are penalties for knowingly employing unauthorized aliens, “so the employer also bears the responsibility for compliance.”
Employers can still file CW petitions for their existing nonresident employees after Nov. 28. However, these nonresidents cannot begin to work until the CW petitions are approved.
Aliens with parole up to Jan. 31, 2012, and had umbrella permits but were unemployed as of Nov. 28 can also be filed a CW petition by an employer after Nov. 28 if they find an employer before the expiration of their parole. However, they also cannot work until the CW petitions are approved.
These aliens, however, must be considered lawfully present before Nov. 27.
At the same time, USCIS announced that Form I-9 CNMI will no longer be valid for use after Nov. 27.
Beginning Nov. 28, 2011, employers must use the standard Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification when hiring individuals for employment in the CNMI and for reverification purposes.
All U.S. employers must complete and retain a Form I-9 for each individual they hire for employment in the United States. This includes citizens and non-citizens alike.
Employers are not supposed to file Form I-9 with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement or USCIS but must keep it either for three years after the date of hire or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later. The form must be available for inspection by authorized U.S. government officials including those from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, and Department of Justice.
