Should the Northern Mariana Islands’ Foreign Worker Program be Extended? (H.R. 5956)

What is H.R. 5956?

(Updated November 15, 2018)

This bill was enacted on July 24, 2018

This bill would extend the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ (CNMI) foreign worker program beyond the program’s slated end in 2019, to 2029. It’d also aim to incentivize the hiring of American workers in the CNMI.

It would also reset the number of CW-1 visas to 13,000 beginning in FY 2019; and CW-1 petitions valid for three years would be issued to those who qualified.

This bill would impose an annual supplemental fee of $200 per nonimmigrant worker on certain employers to raise funds for training United States workers.

Argument in favor

The Northern Mariana Islands economy relies on foreign workers, who made up 53% of all workers in 2016—and demand continues to rise. In 2016 and 2017, DHS issued nearly all of its permits. Removing foreign workers by 2019 could have severe ramifications for the local economy.

Argument opposed

Ending the Northern Mariana Islands’ foreign worker program — and thereby ending employers’ abilities to hire foreign workers who may be willing to work for lower wages than locals — could boost local wages by increasing competition for limited numbers of employees.

Impact

Workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands economy; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Cost of H.R. 5956

A CBO estimate for this bill is unavailable. However, the CBO did produce an estimate for S. 2325, the bill’s companion. On net, CBO estimated that enacting the bill would reduce direct spending, mainly for federal benefit programs, by $3 million over the 2018-2028 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT) introduced this bill to maintain U.S. workers’ eligibility to stay and work in CNMI.

This bill’s language was originally part of H.R. 4869, which passed the Senate on April 23rd. However, the Senate added an anti-fraud fee at the Trump administration’s request, which breached the Constitutional requirement that revenue bills may only originate in the House, making a new House bill necessary.

This bill has one cosponsor, Congressman Kilili Sablan (D-MP).

Of Note: On May 8, 2008, the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA) extended most provisions of U.S. immigration law to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (the CNMI) for the first time in history. The transition period for implementing U.S. immigration law in the CNMI began on Nov. 28, 2009, and is now scheduled to end on Dec. 31, 2019.

Under this policy, foreign workers in many employment categories are eligible to work in CNMI. These include religious workers, investors, scientists, athletes, nurses, agricultural workers, artists, researchers, cultural exchange participants, information technology specialists, and others. Because the CNRA extends U.S. immigration law to cover the CNMI, numerous immigrant and nonimmigrant employment-based classifications are available to foreign workers in the CNMI.

Media:

• Coponsoring Delegate Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (D-MP) Press Release