Yesterday, 187 individuals attended the Saipan Chamber of Commerce meeting at the Hyatt Sandcastle to hear more about the final rule but were disappointed that visiting U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Honolulu District Director David G. Gulick could not discuss it pending its publication in the Federal Register.
But Gulick said he will soon speak with groups of people to discuss the final rule for transitional workers.
USCIS will educate the community about the newly published rule, he added.
He said starting Sept. 20, they will be conducting sessions that will help employers and workers understand the regulation and how it is going to be applied and how they are going to benefit from it.
“We will have some general session and will have sessions with employers and help them on what they will need to do under this regulation,” he added.
In as much as the agency would like to educate as many groups as possible, Gulick hinted at the possibility of two USCIS teams coming over to the CNMI.
He also said they may hold public sessions not only on Saipan but also on “neighbor islands” Tinian and Rota.
Gulick said the teams will be here until Sept. 30 — “at least.”
He also confirmed that the teams include two public affairs officers and two community relations offers.
The USCIS, Gulick said, will be maintaining three officers at the Application Support Center at the TSL Plaza Building until the second quarter of 2012 pending budgetary constraints.
He also urged the public to bring to their attention any “bumps” in the filing of their petitions. He said, “The California Service Center is very concerned and they want to do a very, very outstanding customer service performance on this.”
Although he couldn’t say much about the rule pending publication in the Federal Register, Gulick also confirmed that they are doing a video, in one to three languages on how to fill out petitions. “It is in the works right now.”
He urged the public to course through their request for sessions and schedule these with the USCIS through Darlene Kutara at [email protected] or [email protected].
In an interview, Gulick explained the inspection copy does not have the effective dates of the rule as would have been included in the final published copy.
“The Federal Register publication will have what the actual date is,” he said.
He also said the final rule may include final tweaking and addition of dates.
Today the public can access the rule at www.archives.gov/federal-register/public-inspection/about.html, the link Gulick provided at the meeting and the same link that the Chamber circulated among its members on Tuesday.
Beginning today, Gulick said he could meet with the Chamber to go over some of the highlights and changes in the final rule.
He also urged the public to check the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov for Q&A’s, press releases and fact sheets on the newly released rule.
The public reacts
United Workers of the CNMI President Rabby Syed expressed some of his concerns with the regulations.
He told Variety that given the situation of the economy, it will be difficult for people to find employment on island. “This CW category is employment-based.”
Syed sees that a significant number of the workers will be out of jobs.
“I am asking all alien workers to be united and they should raise their concern for improved status with a pathway to citizenship,” he said.
Syed, who confirmed they’re organizaing a meeting of workers next week, flies to Washington D.C. on Sept. 30 to meet with government officials and discuss the plight of the workers in the CNMI.
Retiree Frank Stewart, a member of the Chamber was disappointed in not hearing much from Gulick at the Chamber meeting. “Why cannot they tell us what is going to happen… why couldn’t they release it?”
Society of Human Resource Management’s Eric Plinske said, “I think he [Gulick] did the best he could for right now the regs are not officially out yet.”
He was also elated that SHRM has booked a session with the visiting USCIS outreach team on Sept. 20 to help them and their members go over the final rule.
Asked on Gulick’s Chamber presentation, Marianas Visitors Authority chairwoman Marian Aldan Pierce commented, “It was not unexpected.”
She also said there were no surprises from the one that was published before.
“There is still a lot of uncertainty out there…It is just amazing how much people don’t know and what they fear because they don’t know. So, it is always good to have as many informational meetings as possible, which is what David is proposing with his team. I think that is great,” she said.
Asked if what she read so far — the 149-page inspection copy — answers the concerns of the business community, she replied, “In terms of what to do with the majority of their employees who would not otherwise qualify for H visas — yes. That is really why the CW category was put together is to take care of all that.”
She also finds it “unbelievable” that there are still people who think they have to leave come 2014 and the sessions with the USCIS she said will help clarify this.
Asked if it was worth the wait for the publication of the final rule, Saipan Chamber of Commerce President Douglas Brennan said, “Worth it or not, I know the delays have caused a great deal of anxiety within the business and employee community. At least it is out right now. We have a few months to address it before Nov. 2011. We just got to start moving quicker.”
He also said the Chamber board will be meeting with Gulick to iron out any issues they may have initially.
He, however, highlighted the need to maintain whatever business is left on island. “It’s got to be a concerted effort to get this economy back on track,” said Brennan.
Chamber board member David Sablan Sr. told Variety, “What is important here is that the DHS people are trying as much as possible to be accommodating to the need of the island particularly in the area of economy.”
He said he is satisfied with the threshold start of the 22,516 workers that they are trying to keep here. “The CNMI will continue to need this level of employees on island. I am supporting the continued stay of these people here,” he said.
Chamber board member Aya Matsumoto and Pacific Eagle vice president said she looks forward to reading the final rule and she hopes the economy gets better.
