Rabby Syed, the group’s president, said the statement of USCIS reminding CNMI permanent residents and immediate relatives of Freely Associated State or FAS citizens to apply for parole is a good sign.
But there are also parents of U.S. citizen children with disabilities that may lose status if they will not find a job before Nov. 27, he added.
“If those parents along with their U.S. citizen children with disabilities are sent back to their home country they can no longer avail of the benefits given by the federal government to their children,” he said.
He described this issue as a humanitarian concern.
He said USCIS should show compassion to parents of U.S. citizen children with disabilities, to the “stateless” individuals born in the NMI between 1974 and 1978, and to other nonresidents who presently face an uncertain status.
Syed said the series of outreach sessions conducted by USCIS regarding the transitional worker rule were very helpful because “they personally and physically heard the different concerns from nonresident workers.”
He is hoping that after these meetings with members of the community, USCIS will consider modifying some provisions of the rule.
“The discussion will allow USCIS officials to get their own perspective based on the different concerns raised during the sessions,” he said.
The people of the CNMI, he added, are finally getting the right information about the CW rule.
He urged nonresidents to attend other USCIS outreach sessions and ask questions to “avoid confusion.”
