By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

QUESTIONS about when and where nonresidents can get their “green cards” have so far dominated the 24-hour federalization hotline set up by the Federal Labor Ombudsman’s office in April, Variety learned yesterday.
“There were 20 to 30 calls and every single one of them had to do with when and where they could get their green cards,” Federal Labor Ombudsman Jim Benedetto said.
A “Green card” to is a document verifying one’s permanent U.S. residency.
All these inquiries about green cards come at a time when the chairman of the U.S. Senate committee that has oversight jurisdiction over the CNMI and other insular areas is set to sponsor legislation to extend federal immigration law to the commonwealth.
A draft bill prepared and submitted to the committee by the U.S. Department of the Interior has a provision that says the U.S. secretary of State will issue non-immigrant visas to aliens who have lawfully resided in the CNMI for at least five years prior to the enactment of the bill.
This provision in the draft bill has sparked the interest of thousands of long-term nonresident workers in the CNMI.
The number 322-HELP or 322-4357 is for foreign workers to obtain information about rumors having to do with federalization and resedency issues,and to find out whether they are true or not
But inquiries about green cards are not supposed to be about actually applying for or obtaining one, but to get information from workers about whether there are individuals or groups collecting money from them in exchange for a promised green card.
Benedetto said his office will have to fine tune the “message” in the hotline to make sure that the hotline’s goal is achieved.
Benedetto and Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Affairs David B. Cohen earlier said that the purpose of the 322-HELP line is “to allow people to report what they are hearing, so we can investigate and get the word out — using the news media, if need be — about what is legitimate and what is not.”
Federal officials say there are workers who have been told they could obtain U.S. permanent residency if they paid a fee to someone.
“In times of uncertainty, there are always people who try to take advantage of the desperation of others,” Benedetto earlier said.
Callers may remain anonymous or they may leave a contact number if they wish to get a return call.
The Federal Labor Ombudsman’s Office will either return a worker’s call directly or, if the office receives a large volume of calls reporting the same rumor, it will answer the question by issuing a press release to the local news media. “Depending upon the rumor, we may need a few days to check it out,” it said.