This scenario was brought up during the outreach on the transitional worker rule conducted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on Tuesday.
USCIS District Director David Gulick, who led the outreach team, said the employer must pursue an H1B visa for the worker.
“Complicated question, simple answer,” he added.
In filing any petition, Gulick said, the employer must “attest” that there’s no U.S. citizen worker qualified for the position.
If USCIS found out there’s a qualified U.S. citizen worker it will deny the petition, he added.
Asked how long an employer will wait before declaring that there are no qualified US citizens for the position, Gulick said there’s no specific time limit, “but it should be reasonable enough to [notify U.S. citizens] that the job is available.”
Gulick said there’s a special provision in the regulation that allows a CW1 worker to transit to Guam en route to the Philippines if the worker is Filipino.
“Your flight leaving from Guam airport has to be within eight hours when you arrived and you’re not allowed to leave the airport,” he said.
Previously, nonresidents without U.S. visas have to transit to South Korea or Japan before boarding a plane to their home country.
Gulick said when coming back from a vacation from their home country, the CW1 workers should get the CW1 non-immigrant visa issued by the U.S. Embassy in their home country.
Before leaving for vacation, he advised CW workers to get more information from the U.S. Embassy website, follow the instructions and ask for an appointment.
Some nonresidents said they were dismayed to learn that even under the CW rule, it was still uncertain if they could return to the CNMI from a vacation.
Asked if USCIS can extend a nonresident’s parole-in-place so he can continue to remain on island legally while pursuing his uncollected salaries, Gulick said the parole-in-place is for somebody who does not have an umbrella permit, which expires on Nov. 27.
“After Nov 27 it’s going to be available on a case-by-case basis whether or not exceptional humanitarian factors are involved,” he said. Ordinarily, he added, pursuing a civil claim does not require the physical presence of a nonresident. “We have not traditionally said that’s the reason to remain [here]. You can go home and if you need to come back we will assist in getting you back for your court appearance.”
