By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
Variety News Staff

AN overstaying alien who was arrested after authorities found him working illegally in the CNMI has agreed to depart voluntarily from the islands.
Wu Qingsong, 32, through his lawyer Joseph Horey, and the government, through Assistant Attorney General Kevin Lynch, signed a voluntary departure agreement last week.
The parties stipulated that Wu desires to leave the island and return to his homeland, China
Superior Court Associate Judge David A. Wiseman approved the stipulation on Friday and ordered that Wu depart promptly after receiving his travel document from the Chinese consulate.
Wiseman also ordered that Wu’s $4,000 bail be returned to the person who posted it.
Wu must purchase his own airline ticket when his travel document arrives.
The judge said the deportation proceedings will be dismissed once it is verified that Wu has departed from the commonwealth, but the case is subject to reinstatement should the respondent return to the commonwealth.
A deportation proceeding was filed against Wu when he failed to leave the CNMI after his permit expired in 2001.
But the matter was taken off the calendar on Aug. 3, 2004 due to a pending labor case filed with the Department of Labor which remains unresolved.
The affidavit of Immigration Investigator Richard Lizama stated that Wu worked as an iron presser at a garment factory in 1997.
His entry permit was issued on Nov. 25, 1997 and expired on Nov. 20, 2001.
Wu failed to maintain a valid travel document and was working without proper documentation approved by the Department of Labor.
Wu was found working in a hardware store before his arrest and was also seen operating an illegal taxi service.