subject: Transition To U.s. Immigration Law Begins In The Cnmi [print this page] The U.S. Department of Homeland Security made an announcement on November 27, 2009. This announcement stated that the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) will be replaced by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and other U.S. immigration laws on November 28, 2009. This new amendment eases restrictions and provides new privileges to CNMI residents who want to live and work in the United States.
Though US immigration laws will apply to CNMI from November 28, 2009, CNMI will undergo a transition period with temporary measures until December 31, 2014. This transition period will allow for an orderly transition and give individuals time to identify suitable visa classifications under the INA.
The Consolidated National Resources Act (CNRA) of 2008 was signed on May 8, 2008, and it extends certain provisions of US Immigration Law to CNMI. Five transition rules were published in the Federal Register in the year 2009 to address the key changes made in the CNRA. The changes are listed below:
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection has published an interim rule on January 16, that states that the admission period for the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program was extended from 15 days to 45 days.
On March 10, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) opened an Application Support Center (ASC) at TSL Plaza in Saipan. This new center provides biometric services including fingerprint capture, photograph, and signature.
USCIS published a proposed rule on September 14, which would create a CNMI-specific nonimmigrant investor visa classification known as E-2 CNMI Investor status. This status allows CNMI investors to enter and exit CNMI with E-2 CNMI Investor visas.
An interim final rule was published by USCIS on October 27 that classifies Transitional Worker visa in CNMI during the transition period.
A new interim rule was published on October 27 by the USCIS and the Department of Justices Executive Office for Immigration Review to revise immigration rules so as to implement new laws that apply to CNMI.
