Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds says the CW-1 touchback requirement “needs to go” as her office prepares a new push for relief following super typhoons Sinlaku and Bavi.
Speaking at the Society for Human Resource Management Northern Mariana Islands Chapter general membership meeting held last Oct. 1 at Pacific Islands Club Saipan, King-Hinds said touchback has disrupted businesses and ongoing projects throughout the CNMI.
“I think we can all admit that it is a bad policy and it needs to go,” King-Hinds said.
Under the 2018 Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act, a CW-1 worker can receive an initial permit and two consecutive renewals. After those three periods, the worker must leave the United States for at least 30 continuous days before another CW petition can be filed.
King-Hinds said H.R. 8931, which she introduced, would eliminate the requirement.
She said her office had spent months looking for ways to address touchback without going through Congress but ultimately determined that changing the requirement requires legislation.
King-Hinds also disclosed that a previous request for temporary relief from touchback had been denied.
That request, however, was made before Sinlaku and Bavi struck the CNMI.
King-Hinds said the situation has since changed as the Commonwealth faces major recovery work while businesses and projects continue to lose workers to touchback.
“The need right now is to get the number of businesses that are impacted, the types of federal projects that are impacted,” she said.
King-Hinds said her office will issue a call next week asking CNMI employers to provide information on workers affected by touchback, the projects involved, and how many workers are affected.
The information will be used to strengthen the Commonwealth’s case for relief.
King-Hinds said the issue could also affect the CNMI’s ability to make use of federal recovery money because projects have deadlines but cannot move without enough workers.
Her office is now preparing a letter to employers seeking those numbers.
“We need to get statistics, we need to get the data to make a better argument,” King-Hinds said.
King-Hinds has separately introduced broader legislation to address the CNMI’s long-term workforce needs.
Her Northern Mariana Islands Labor Stabilization Act would extend the CW program through at least 2039, provide a mechanism for further extensions based on CNMI workforce needs, allow the annual cap to adjust based on labor demand, and provide longer permit periods for certain long-term workers.
Under current law, the CW numerical cap drops to 7,000 in fiscal year 2027, 6,000 in fiscal year 2028, and 5,000 in fiscal year 2029 before falling to 1,000 for the first quarter of fiscal year 2030.
King-Hinds also addressed concerns about the rollout of Disaster Unemployment Assistance in the CNMI.
Juan I. Tenorio, former human resources director of Hafadai Beach Resort, now Grandvrio Resort Saipan, meanwhile raised concerns during the question-and-answer portion about birth tourism and immigration enforcement under visa-waiver arrangements.
King-Hinds responded that screening under the current program is more extensive than it was in the past.
She said travelers are vetted before coming to the CNMI and may still be denied admission by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when they arrive.
“We know that the program is working because people are being denied admission into the United States,” King-Hinds said.
She acknowledged that no system is perfect but said the issue should be addressed through stronger enforcement. King-Hinds said she has been discussing enforcement and the CNMI’s tourism needs with the Department of Homeland Security.
Immigration attorney Bruce L. Mailman of Mailman & Kara LLC followed King-Hinds with a presentation on the CW program, employment authorization, green cards, and other immigration issues facing CNMI employers and human resources professionals.
Mailman said the problems employers face under the CW program have largely remained unchanged: slow processing of temporary labor certifications and I-129CW petitions, federal reassessments of education and skill requirements, some denials involving eligibility for three-year petitions, high filing fees, touchback, and uncertainty over when workers will return.
“Touchback—I can't say enough bad things about the touchback—and, of course, the fact that people don't know how long they're going to be gone for touchback,” Mailman said. “The disruption is just incredible.”
Mailman said employers should look beyond their next CW renewal and start examining whether workers may qualify for other immigration categories or permanent residence.
His recommendations included auditing the workforce to identify employees who could change visa categories or qualify for green cards, developing training and internship programs for U.S.-qualified workers, and considering student internship programs.
Mailman also warned that, unless federal law changes, the CW program, E-2C program, and the CNMI and Guam exemptions from the national H-1B and H-2B caps are set to end in 2029.
Mailman also highlighted federal guidance on CNMI long-term residents and employment authorization documents.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services guidance included in his presentation, CNMI long-term residents are authorized to work based on their immigration status and do not lose employment authorization simply because their EAD expires.
An expired EAD, however, is no longer valid evidence of employment authorization. Long-term residents may therefore renew the card using Form I-765 to maintain proof of their authorization.
Their CNMI long-term resident status also does not automatically expire with the CW program in 2029.
Mailman also cautioned HR professionals about questionable EAD applications and claims.
His presentation noted that C11 is a legitimate category but applies to people already granted humanitarian parole. C16, meanwhile, is limited to people applying for permanent residence based on continuous U.S. residence dating to at least Jan. 1, 1972.
Mailman advised employers uncertain about an EAD category to verify it against USCIS information.
For employers, his message was to start planning now rather than wait for the CW program's approaching 2029 deadline.
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