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Local hire encouraged for CBP personnel
Qualified local residents are being encouraged to apply as Customs and Border Protection officers.
The administration of Gov. Ralph DLG Torres said they are looking to decongest the long immigration lines at the Francisco C. Ada Saipan International Airport. Torres is expected to meet with officials of CBP, Commonwealth Ports Authority, Marianas Visitors Authority, and other agencies involved.
The influx of cheap flights to Saipan has increased the number of CNMI visitors—welcome news that has also created problems, with tourists having to endure hour-long lines before being cleared to enter the CNMI.
“We’re looking at different options that would best fit the CNMI to alleviate the current problems of waiting in line for hours at the airport. There are also plans of installing an automated passport system so visitors or those coming in would be easier to process,” the administration had said.
Another option is to tap U.S. citizens in the CNMI to fill the posts needed at CBP.
“It would be best to hire locally and the job also has good pay. It would be hard to get mainland folks to come and work here as CBP officers,” added the administration.
Aside from being a U.S. citizen, other basic qualifications to become a CBP officer is having a valid driver’s license, passing the CBP entrance exam and urine test, submitting school transcripts and grade-point calculations, not older than 37 years old, and appearing for an oral panel interview.
There are 29 other locations—the states of Arizona, California, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Texas, Vermont, and Washington—in the mainland that are looking for CBP officers. The positions are open until March 31.
