U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regional media manager Marie Therese Sebrechts said, “Employers can still petition for workers to obtain CW status or any other nonimmigrant employment-based status, as long as the alien is lawfully present in the CNMI, such as with valid parole status.”
She explained further, “With CW, if they did not apply by Nov 28, there is no continuing employment provision and so the alien must stop working after Nov 27 and cannot begin working again until the approval of his/her petition.”
Sebrechts highlighted its importance as an individual is only eligible for the CW classification if he/she is “lawfully present” in the CNMI.
She said a person is not “lawfully present” if he or she is engaged in unauthorized employment, so, for an application filed after Nov 28, the worker must stop working until the I-129CW petition is filed and approved.
She said, “Only those filed by the Nov. 28 deadline benefit from continuing employment provision and can continue working while awaiting decision on his/her CW-1.”
Recently, the agency surprised the nonresidents with its decision to grant parole to those potential beneficiaries of Cong. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan’s pending bill in the U.S. Congress, HR 1466.
On the USCIS website, it was clear that the parole wasn’t a blanket invitation but a grant on a case by case basis.
The decision by USCIS was warmly received by nonresidents who are potential beneficiaries of the HR 1466.
On facebook, the nonresidents hailed USCIS grant of parole “as a nice Thanksgiving treat.”
Sablan hailed this administrative relief for these groups of nonresidents calling USCIS action as “welcome news.”
He applauded USCIS for providing humanitarian parole to persons in the four groups.
Under HR 1466, Kilili was requesting the admission into the CNMI as immigrant persons born in the Northern Marianas between 1974 and 1978, CNMI Permanent Residents, the immediate relatives of these two groups, and the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens.
USCIS listens
The grant of parole by USCIS was a product of the USCIS’ outreach sessions, listening to the myriad concerns of the various groups affected by the implementation of the transitional worker program.
Sebrechts told Variety in a separate interview, “USCIS, throughout our work in the CNMI, has consistently done outreach and listened to the concerns that we have heard.”
She added, “In recognition of and response to the unique situation in the CNMI and the mandate to make the transition as smooth as possible, we have provided alternatives such as parole.”
The agency has yet to issue guidelines on how to apply for parole for the eligible nonresidents.
For more information on parole and application for employment authorization document, log on to www.uscis.gov.
