NMBAC: Alternate visas not ideal

Northern Marianas Business Alliance Corp. said yesterday that alternate visas to be utilized in the stead of the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker visa was not ideal for business models in the CNMI, whose economy relies heavily on the tourism and hospitality industry.

According to NMBAC chair Alex Sablan, 75 percent of the CNMI economy consists of small to medium businesses that did not have the budget to utilize alternate visas or entice U.S.-eligible workers to move to the CNMI for work. Additionally, alternate visas such as the H visas are temporary, Sablan said, adding that Guam was having trouble with workforce labor issues as well under the H visas due to this fact.

“…The visas don’t make too much sense for their business model. An H2B visa is a temporary job. In Guam, the reason the H2B visa system has collapsed is because the USCIS came in and made a determination that the contractors using [H2B] laborers in their businesses were deemed …permanent because they had jobs here and there and weren’t project specific,” he said, adding that Guam has been using the H visa to repair homes, renovating homes, etc.

Sablan said that the same thing would pan out in the CNMI should H visas be utilized as the main visa for the foreign workforce.

“If you take the same rationale, [CNMI foreign workers] are not temporary. They are being used for day-to-day operations, 365 days a year,” he said. “Trying to transition people into the H visa-—in our view—would be difficult because we aren’t dealing with temporary workers here; we need them all year round.”

When asked if a backup plan was present just in case the CW-1 program expires, Sablan responded, “The CW-1 program is the backup plan.”

“There wasn’t an alternate visa system that would translate to a workforce that is needed year-round,” he said. “Plan B is to reinstate what was already known—that this Commonwealth would need to have extensions on the foreseeable future because we just do not have enough U.S. citizens on the ground. There is no alternate plan B beyond that because…small businesses do not have the opportunity to recruit in the U.S. and bring them out here,” he said.

The NMBAC chair, who is also an active member of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, said that there are an estimated 1,200 rooms on the way on Saipan this coming 2018.

“These hotels are going to need workers. We do not have the numbers to supply that workforce,” Sablan said.

According to NMBAC member and Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands chair Gloria Cavanagh, H visas work well in the mainland U.S. more than the CNMI. She said that the mainland had something called the “crab season,” where H visas were perfect for the temporary hiring of skilled fisherman for a certain period of time.

“This is exactly why the CW-1 visa was created, because such types of visas just don’t work because of our environment and location,” she said.

Fruit of NMBAC’s door knocking efforts

NMBAC chair Sablan said yesterday that efforts to extend the CW-1 program were greeted with assurance.

“I heard from US Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) office and Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan’s (Ind-MP) office that they understand the importance of the [CW-1 program],” he said, adding that the Congressmen recognized that there was a need for extension. “I think we’ve got assurances that something will soon be done; how quickly is the most important thing here because we are in a time crunch.”

“We are feverishly trying to get something accomplished.”

According to chair Sablan, NMBAC has also been assured by most of those they have talked to that they would “get something done.”

“How quickly that comes, we just don’t know,” he said.

According to Gov. Ralph DLG Torres, discussions with Murkowski, who was reportedly willing to introduce the bill to extend the CW-1 program, were more focused on the parameters of the extension.

NMBAC not only advocated for the extension of the CW-1 program beyond 2019 but also supported and testified for Torres in his quest for seeking a reprieve from the 3,000 reduction of CW-1 slots for fiscal year 2018.

When asked for an update, Torres, who was also present at the press conference, said that the date NMBAC provided to the members of U.S. Congress resulted with the congressmen opting to “gather more information on their side.”

Torres said that with the presentation of NMBAC, it gave the U.S. congressmen an opportunity to “hopefully revisit the 3,000 [reduction] and come out with a better number.

“There is no absolute assurance for the [reprieve], but I believe it gave them a better sense of understanding of how critical the 3,000 is and move forward with the reduction,” he said.