US extends foreign worker program in Northern Mariana Islands until 2019
GARAPAN, Saipan – Some 10,000 foreign workers mostly from the Philippines will be able to continue working in the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for an additional five years or up to 2019, based on US Labor Secretary Thomas Perez’s decision to extend the foreign worker program.
Without the US Labor secretary’s decision, some 10,000 foreign workers would have been forced to exit the CNMI after Dec. 31, 2014.
CNMI Governor Eloy S. Inos and the CNMI’s delegate to the US House of Representatives, Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan, along with businesses owners and employees, said failing to extend the program would be catastrophic to the local economy.
This is because there are still not enough qualified US workers to take over the jobs held currently by foreign workers.
Overseas Filipino workers are a major economic driver in the CNMI, working as nurses, engineers, architects, teachers, certified public accountants, mechanics, reporters, hotel and restaurant employees, caregivers, housekeepers, and farmers.
“This is good news for Filipinos here in the CNMI. It means we can still work and help the CNMI, and earn for our family back home for five more years. My son would be a marine engineering graduate by then,” Elmer Barrogo, 57, told GMA News on Thursday, hours after the US government decision.
Barrogo has been an overseas Filipino worker since 1991. He said if he were in another Us territory, he would more than likely be a green card holder or even a US citizen by now
But this is not the case in the CNMI, the immigration of which became federalized only under a 2008 law and the transition period has just been extended by five years or up to 2019.
Luis Cagamba, a licensed civil engineer in the Philippines and now a production supervisor at a construction firm in the CNMI’s capital island of Saipan, said the CNMI still cannot afford to lose skilled and professional workers from the Philippines who have taken on most of the specialized or skilled jobs in the Commonwealth.
“Construction projects won’t be started and completed without workers from the Philippines mostly,” the Davao City native said.
This US territory has an estimated population of around 54,000 based on the 2010 U.S. Census. It is some three hours away from Manila.
The CNMI governor said the extra five years provides the CNMI more time to educate, train and hire as many US workers as possible, to take over the jobs of foreign workers after 2019.
“This is certainly welcome news for the CNMI,” Inos said hours after receiving the US Labor secretary’s letter announcing the five-year extension of the so-called Commonwealth-only worker or “CW” program.
He said many CNMI businesses were holding back from making any long-term strategies and foreign workers were uncertain about the future of their employment status pending the US Labor secretary’s decision.
Inos said he will take the necessary steps to effectively train and prepare US citizens and other lawful permanent residents “to meet the workforce needs of legitimate businesses in the CNMI.”
This comes at a critical juncture as the CNMI is rebuilding its tourism-based economy.
The five-year extension will also help keep families together.
Jennycka Bery, an 18-year-old US citizen daughter of two Filipino workers, said she’s happy and relieved to know that her parents won’t be forced to leave the CNMI after Dec. 31, 2014.
She said this will also provide ample time for her 19-year-old brother, now serving in the US Marine Corps, to petition their parents for better immigration status.
But Filipinos and other foreign workers do not necessarily have to exit the CNMI after the CW program expires in 2019.
If they qualify for an H visa that their employer would have to apply for them, then they can still continue working here beyond the immigration transition period.
Bong Malasarte, a businessman and a former president of the United Filipino Organization in the CNMI, said he hopes his compatriots would use the additional five years to pursue their goals, save money and prepare for when the program ends.
Many Filipino workers in the CNMI are also hoping that within five years, US Congress would have already passed a national immigration reform bill that would also grant legal, long-time foreign workers in the CNMI a pathway to US citizenship. — JDS, GMA News
Without the US Labor secretary’s decision, some 10,000 foreign workers would have been forced to exit the CNMI after Dec. 31, 2014.
CNMI Governor Eloy S. Inos and the CNMI’s delegate to the US House of Representatives, Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan, along with businesses owners and employees, said failing to extend the program would be catastrophic to the local economy.
This is because there are still not enough qualified US workers to take over the jobs held currently by foreign workers.
Overseas Filipino workers are a major economic driver in the CNMI, working as nurses, engineers, architects, teachers, certified public accountants, mechanics, reporters, hotel and restaurant employees, caregivers, housekeepers, and farmers.
“This is good news for Filipinos here in the CNMI. It means we can still work and help the CNMI, and earn for our family back home for five more years. My son would be a marine engineering graduate by then,” Elmer Barrogo, 57, told GMA News on Thursday, hours after the US government decision.
Barrogo has been an overseas Filipino worker since 1991. He said if he were in another Us territory, he would more than likely be a green card holder or even a US citizen by now
But this is not the case in the CNMI, the immigration of which became federalized only under a 2008 law and the transition period has just been extended by five years or up to 2019.
Luis Cagamba, a licensed civil engineer in the Philippines and now a production supervisor at a construction firm in the CNMI’s capital island of Saipan, said the CNMI still cannot afford to lose skilled and professional workers from the Philippines who have taken on most of the specialized or skilled jobs in the Commonwealth.
“Construction projects won’t be started and completed without workers from the Philippines mostly,” the Davao City native said.
This US territory has an estimated population of around 54,000 based on the 2010 U.S. Census. It is some three hours away from Manila.
The CNMI governor said the extra five years provides the CNMI more time to educate, train and hire as many US workers as possible, to take over the jobs of foreign workers after 2019.
“This is certainly welcome news for the CNMI,” Inos said hours after receiving the US Labor secretary’s letter announcing the five-year extension of the so-called Commonwealth-only worker or “CW” program.
He said many CNMI businesses were holding back from making any long-term strategies and foreign workers were uncertain about the future of their employment status pending the US Labor secretary’s decision.
Inos said he will take the necessary steps to effectively train and prepare US citizens and other lawful permanent residents “to meet the workforce needs of legitimate businesses in the CNMI.”
This comes at a critical juncture as the CNMI is rebuilding its tourism-based economy.
The five-year extension will also help keep families together.
Jennycka Bery, an 18-year-old US citizen daughter of two Filipino workers, said she’s happy and relieved to know that her parents won’t be forced to leave the CNMI after Dec. 31, 2014.
She said this will also provide ample time for her 19-year-old brother, now serving in the US Marine Corps, to petition their parents for better immigration status.
But Filipinos and other foreign workers do not necessarily have to exit the CNMI after the CW program expires in 2019.
If they qualify for an H visa that their employer would have to apply for them, then they can still continue working here beyond the immigration transition period.
Bong Malasarte, a businessman and a former president of the United Filipino Organization in the CNMI, said he hopes his compatriots would use the additional five years to pursue their goals, save money and prepare for when the program ends.
Many Filipino workers in the CNMI are also hoping that within five years, US Congress would have already passed a national immigration reform bill that would also grant legal, long-time foreign workers in the CNMI a pathway to US citizenship. — JDS, GMA News
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