“Our nonresident workers without U.S. visas will be trapped here for the duration of their contracts,” Rep. Ray N. Yumul said in an interview on Friday.
Medical referrals of nonresidents will also be affected, he added.
Yumul, R-Saipan, said guest workers who plan to go on vacation in May and June should wait for the implementation of the federalization law.
“There’s nothing we can do but wait and see,” he said.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, said once the law takes effect, a federal field office will open on island to provide U.S. visas to qualified nonresidents.
“So they have to wait for that before they go off-island,” he said.
Most of the CNMI’s remaining guest workers are from the Philippines where at least 1,000 Filipinos apply for a U.S. visa each working day. The rejection rate is about 90 percent.
