The FAS are the independent island-nations of Palau, the Marshall islands and the Federated States of Micronesia — Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap.
Under their Compacts of Free Association with America, their citizens are free to migrate to the U.S. and its territories.
According to the revised administrative code of the CNMI Department of Labor following the enactment of the Immigration Conformity Act of 2010 as published in the Commonwealth Register, hiring FAS citizens should be prioritized over guest workers.
“Qualified FAS citizens have a secondary preference for available jobs in the private sector in the commonwealth. The department shall provide assistance to FAS citizens residing in the commonwealth in the use of the department’s Web site to post resumés and locate employment,” part of the new regulations state.
U.S. Public Law 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 also underscored the importance of the FAS citizens to meet the CNMI’s need for more workers as the federal government seeks to reduce the number of nonimmigrant alien workers to zero by 2014.
CNMI Labor said FAS citizens may use the dispute resolution system if their secondary job preference privilege is challenged.
Documented foreign workers should be the last preference, Labor said.
Prior to the adoption of the floating benchmark preference rule, private sector employers must have at least 30 percent residents within their workforce.
However, exceptions are granted if good faith efforts to hire locals and other U.S. citizens fail.
