Grey said the federal government “is giving us a broken system to work with.”
Overstaying guest workers, for their part, cannot get an immigration status from the federal government, he added.
“They’ll just ruin their chances totally so they better clean up their record now and go home,” he added.
The Department of Labor has started posting a list of overstayers following the enactment of the CNMI federalization law, which will be implemented next year.
Grey said nonresidents should realize that “nobody gets anything [from the federal immigration system] and everybody gets hurt.”
Under federal immigration law, he said, a Filipino guest worker’s family member who wants to enter the CNMI must submit an application and wait for an appointment two months later for an interview at the U.S. Embassy in Manila.
He said over 90 percent of these applications will be rejected.
In contrast, he added, under commonwealth law, a visitor’s entry permit can be processed in seven days and within two weeks the family member of a guest worker can already visit the CNMI.
Under local law, Grey said, the contracts of guest workers may be renewed every year, but under federal law, guest workers have to leave after three years.
