Secretary of Labor Extends the Transition Period of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands-Only Transitional Worker Program

Résumé

The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA) extended U.S. immigration laws to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and authorized the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker (CW-1) program to ensure adequate employment in the CNMI until the program is phased out on December 31, 2014. The CNRA also requires the Secretary of Labor, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Governor of the CNMI, to determine by July 4, 2014, whether an extension of up to five years of the CW-1 program is necessary to ensure an adequate number of workers will be available for legitimate businesses in the CNMI. Based on the factors set out in the CNRA, the Secretary of Labor has made the determination to extend the CW-1 program for five years.