November 11, 2009
The comments are flowing in to DHS on the new regulations. Currently there are 117 comments in the
docket folder on the Regulations.gov site. The vast majority of the comments are from the foreign contract workers. They raise some very good points.
A comment from Edgar states that he has been a legal foreign worker since 1991. He questions why the Chinese and Russians can come to the CNMI as tourists without visas and why the legal foreign workers who have lived and worked in the CNMI for decades cannot exit the CNMI without having to get a visa abroad for their return. He notes that there is no guarantee that a return visa will be issued.
One commenter wrote:
CNMI needs an economy where the money earned here should stay here and the only way to make the economy stable is to stabilize the status of long term guest workers to a permanent status.
What stability this system will offer to investors who want to put up millions worth of investment if the workforce is unstable? By giving a permanent status for long term guest workers, this will give investors security knowing that there are workforce available.
On travel - the DHS has the ability to consider giving a "parole" or "visa waiver" for those workers holding CNMI permits until the expiration of their permit. CW1 permit should be considered a visa to travel and re-enter CNMI.
While many comments address the issue of entering and exiting the CNMI, some commenters also mention that they want the ability to remain in the CNMI while they have pending cases.
Most mention that the CNMI is their home. Many foreign workers have lived longer in the CNMI than in their homelands. One commenter states:
I studied in Northern Mariana College, now I am one of the contract worker for 6 years. We are all here in Saipan. I have kids both born in CNMI. I consider Saipan is our home specially my kids. Please give preference all the workers wha are already here and give permanent status to all the workers who been here for so many years specially for those who have family here.
Children Submitting Comments

A common theme among the comments is the need to keep families together. Many of the people writing comments concerning this issue are children of the foreign contract workers.
Here is one such comment from a U.S. citizen, child, Carl Marquez:
Dear DHS,
Please give my parents a chance to stay in CNMI because this is my home. My brother and I was born here in this beautiful island. I don't want them to go home back to the Philippines because I want to stay here.
It is not my parents fault why they were here in the island. They came here to work, but due to the economic downturn, my Mom found out to be jobless.
Being a US Citizen child, I need my Mom to stay here to take care of me and my younger brother Jian Carlo.
Thank you.
Carl James A. Marquez
Another U.S. citizen child of foreign contract worker parents explains that her parents have lived and worked in the CNMI for 18 years. She requests that her parents' existing CNMI permits be changed to CW-1 permits, and that they be allowed to exit and enter the CNMI.
She explains, "Some reasons why my they might want to go home is because of family matters and medical purposes. The reason why I want them to be able to come back is because of me."
It's great that the children are so proactive and are involved in voicing their opinions to the government at such an early age.
Some comments are coming from residents. Here is one by Neal Eisgrou from the JC Cafe:
The reason we have foreign workers here in the CNMI is because we need them. That is not going to change; they take the jobs the local residents refuse to take.
The idea that employers and foreign workers are exploiting the local workers is ridiculous. The employers have huge expenses; our utility bills have surcharges that are several times the original cost. Most supplies have to be shipped in which is expensive.
Due to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services inability to come up with concrete options my employees are held captive and are afraid to leave the island.
The USCIS/DHS needs to establish the CW-1 and CW-2 Visas without any complicated restrictions. Employers should not have to pay double fees for employees who were just renewed to convert to the CW-1 and CW-2 Visas. The Visas will need to stay in place decades not just a few years.
Although the DHS does not have the authority to grant status under the CNRA the department will consult with the DOI to recommend status to Congress by May 10, 2010. Many guest workers addressed the issue of status in their comments. One displaced garment factory worker said this:
The new Federal Regulation is the same as the current CNMI Local Government who don't like to give permanent status to all foreign workers, Why?
Thought America is friendly and "is the land of opportunity" why is it that foreign workers who had been serving American's Soil like CNMI were treated like commodities that can be thrown away without protection.
I applied for employment in the US Soil like Saipan on the hope of a greener pasture, but it seems that my hope that I am driven away due to unemployment and poverty.
I spent 15 years in this island working as Quality Controller in a defunct garment industry (L&T Int'l) for 14 years only to find out that a day or two myself and my 2 kids will end up wondering around without employer.
If US-INA is to apply in my case having been in the island for more than 10 years is more than enough for to avail a green card because America own's CNMI land, ALL WORKERS LEGALLY ENTER INTO CNMI LAND ARE ALL LAW ABIDING CITIZEN, WE ARE ALL ASSETS NOT LIABILITIES, thank you.
Governor's Comment
Among the comments is one from Governor Fitial, which is a July 18, 2009 letter that he sent to DHS. In the letter he states:
First, the Commonwealth believes that its representatives should be able to review and comment upon, draft regulations being prepared by DHS (and the Departments of Labor and State as well) before they are circulated to the public under the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act or, in the case of the visa waiver provisions (where the APA does not apply), before the regulations are issued in final form. The Commonwealth's United States citizens and all of its residents are going to bear the brunt of regulations issued under this law, which will impact their small island economy in respects not easily understood by federal officials accustomed to working with regulations of national scope. We believe that both the CNMI and the Department will benefit from the Commonwealth's active participation in the regulatory process and its opportunity to review draft regulations before they are issued for public comment.
It seems presumptuous to be suing the United States and the Department of Homeland Security and at the same time requesting to be given "active participation in the regulatory process and its opportunity to review draft regulations before they are issued for public comment."
The governor also requested that the foreign workforce not be reduced during the first two years of transition. Of course, at any time the governor could recommend to the federal government that the nonresidents be given permanent U.S. status. That would not only stabilize the work force, but would give the guest workers political and social rights, which is what the governor, the nativists and business community wants to prevent.
GUEST WORKER SUPPORT CENTER TO POST COMMENTS
The United Worker Movement NMI will set up a support center to assist guest workers in submitting comments on the recently released rules from DHS for three Fridays in November. The center will be held at the Fiestang Pinoy by Juvy Restaurant across Saipan Grand Hotel on Beach Road, Susupe on the following Fridays from 6:00 p.m -10:00 p.m:
November 13
November 20
November 27
The center will have computers, with translators to assist in different languages like Tagalog, Chinese, Bangladeshi, Korean, Sri Lankan, Nepalese, and Hindi.
If you stop by to make a comment, please also sign the new petition requesting status!
If you can't make it to the meeting, you can send in your comments.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0038 by one of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail: You may submit comments directly to USCIS by e-mail at rfs.regs@dhs.gov. Include DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0038 in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Chief, Regulatory Products Division, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529-2210. To ensure proper handling, please reference DHS Docket No. USCIS-2008-0038 on your correspondence. This mailing address may be used for paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW., Suite 3008, Washington, DC 20529-2210. Contact Telephone Number is (202) 272 8377.
Photos by photographer, Itos Feliciano ©2009