Ladd Baumann, an immigration lawyer, told a workshop sponsored by the Saipan Chamber of Commerce that under the federalization law, or P.L. 110-229, professional and unskilled workers in the CNMI are exempted from the national cap on the number of foreign workers, but they may not be “portable” to the rest of the U.S. because the islands have a “slightly different system.”
He said CNMI workers are paid less than their counterparts on Guam.
If CNMI workers are allowed to move to Guam, a lot of them will do so due to the better wages offered there, Baumann said.
He said the new law allows for a transitional workers program for the CNMI.
The guests workers, however, cannot travel to the U.S.
The law at the same time allows the CNMI governor, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to “figure out how many workers are needed to keep the local economy operating,” Baumann said.
Foreigners with valid work permits will be allowed to remain in the CNMI for only two years after the implementation of the federalization law, he said.
It is not clear whether the guest workers can move to another transition program or go home and re-apply to be able to return to the CNMI, he added.
Baumann said the regulations, once drafted, should clear up these uncertainties.
During the transition period, he said, the federal government will maintain the CNMI investor program, and those who have investor visas will be allowed to remain here, but it is unclear whether their visas are “portable.”
In 2009, he said, there will be two investor programs — local and federal.
According to Baumman, one of the justifications for enacting P.L. 110-229 was the CNMI’s non-compliance with the international refugee and asylum program.
The United Nations refugee program does not apply to the CNMI, he added.
He said it was considered necessary to bring supervision of this refugee program in the CNMI under federal control.
The U.S. asylum program will be implemented here once the transition period begins.
“The U.S. asylum law is much more generous than the U.N. refugee program,” Baumman said.
Under the U.N. program, 10 percent of applicants are granted refugee status, while under federal law, 50 percent are granted asylum to the U.S.
