FAST FACTS
-The transitional Commonwealth-only worker rule does not mention anything about improved immigration status for long-term foreign workers in the CNMI.
-Employers will be the one to petition their employees for a CW classification.
-Anyone without a job is automatically out of status, and could face deportation after November 2011.
-Foreign workers with pending CW application as of Nov. 27, 2011, may lawfully continue employment in the CNMI, until a decision is made on the petition filed by his employer.
-Domestic helpers can no longer be employed directly by families; they can only be employed by businesses.
-Travel through Guam for Filipino workers traveling between the CNMI and the Philippines is allowed without a U.S. visa or a U.S. visa waiver, but they are not allowed to leave the Guam airport.
-Parole and advance parole are generally still required for temporary exit/re-entry to the CNMI.
-Foreign workers can have more than one job if they have employers who will sponsor them.
-The number of foreign workers who may be granted CW-1 status is capped at 22,417 for fiscal year 2011, and 22,416 for fiscal year 2012.
-When a CW worker loses his job, he has 30 days to find another employer who will file for a CW status for him.
-At the end of a foreign worker’s job, it’s his responsibility to repatriate himself. The employer’s responsibility is only during the term of their work permit.
-The CNMI can have its own labor law as long as it does not pre-empt federal law.
-A CW status or visa is good only in the CNMI.
Source: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-09-07/pdf/2011-22622.pdf