By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

GOVERNOR Felix P. Camacho has asked the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of State to extend the Treaty National Visa program to include Guam.
The governor made the request during his recent trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the Interagency Group on Insular Affairs meeting.
According to Camacho, Guam currently faces a cap in H1B visas although in other U.S. jurisdictions, the Treaty National visa allows North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, partner citizens, in particular those from Canada, to work in the United States.
Guam is excluded from NAFTA and therefore cannot recruit Canadian health care and teaching professionals as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has already been doing.
Camacho said extending the Treaty National visa to Guam will assist the Guam Memorial Hospital and the Guam Public School System secure additional Treaty National or H1B visa positions to recruit health care and teaching professionals on Guam.
According to the administration, GovGuam continues to have difficulties in getting health, teaching, and construction professionals to work on island.
GMH and GPSS have been receiving many inquiries from foreign nationals who can be licensed to work in the U.S., and are willing to work on Guam.
Last year, the administration requested that 50 Treaty National or H1B visas be allocated annually to Guam for health care professionals and an additional 50 visas be allocated annually for teaching professionals.
Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo, who also attended the IGIA meeting, wants the federal government and the military to help out in increasing Guam’s workforce to handle the expected surge in military deployments over the next decade.
“Over the next 10 years, Guam will see tremendous growth at its military installations. In addition to known Air Force, Navy and Marine growth on the island, the potential remains for, among other things, increased submarines to be homeported on Guam and the assignment of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the island. It is vital, as Guam prepares for this growth and as the Department of Defense undertakes it, that a fully joint interagency approach be taken,” Bordallo said.
During his Washington, D.C. trip, the governor also requested that the IGIA direct grantor agencies consider adding other factors in determining the grant funding levels for recipient jurisdictions.
“I’m pushing for the federal government to increase grant funding levels because our geographic isolation makes it cost more to do business on Guam. This will help increase grant funding for education, healthcare and safety programs,” Camacho said.
Guam received $283 million in grants from the federal government in fiscal year 2006.