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Permanent status bill reintroduced
After 5 years, persons with Marianas permanent residence status could apply for US permanent residency
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Posted on Feb 01 2021
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP) reintroduced Thursday legislation to grant permanent status to certain Commonwealth-only Transitional Workers and to foreign investors, who were originally admitted under Commonwealth immigration law.
In a statement forwarded yesterday to Saipan Tribune, Sablan said that similar legislation, also numbered H.R. 560, passed the U.S. House of Representatives in the last Congress, but died in the Republican-controlled Senate.
In addition to making long-term workers and investors eligible for permanent residence in the Marianas, the new Northern Mariana Islands Legal Residents Relief Act of 2021 gives those eligible for this permanent status under Public Law 116-24 another chance to apply and makes certain family members eligible too.
After five years, persons with Marianas permanent residence status could apply for U.S. permanent residency, Sablan said.
He said the new H.R. 560 addresses concerns with implementation of P.L. 115-218, the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act, including clarifying congressional intent on touchback timing, extending the validity of an approved Commonwealth occupational survey, and increasing the time for CWs to apply for visas to enter the Marianas.
P.L. 115-218 or the Northern Mariana Islands Workforce Act of 2018 extended the CW-1 program up to 2029 and set a numeral cap of 13,000 for fiscal year 2019. The cap was slashed by 500 in fiscal year 2020, and three more times up to fiscal year 2023. Fiscal years 2024 to 2029 will have a reduction of 1,000 each and by 2030 the numerical cap is 1,000.
Sablan said his bill also ensures Marianas permanent residents and CWs can get relief and assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters.
When the House passed H.R. 560 last year, Sablan stated at that time that they needed to get some traction in the U.S. Senate if they are going to move the legislation forward.
“Since the Trump administration has not expressed support for the bill, this won’t be easy but we have to give it our best effort,” the delegate stated at the time.
