Calendar No. 360

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1052

[Report No. 106–204]

A BILL

To implement further the Act (Public Law 94–241)

approving the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America,and for other purposes.

NOVEMBER 1, 1999

Reported with an amendment
II

Calendar No. 360

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1052

[Report No. 106–204]

To implement further the Act (Public Law 94–241) approving the Covenant

to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 13, 1999

Mr. MURKOWSKI (for himself, Mr. AKAKA, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr. HARKIN)

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

NOVEMBER 1, 1999

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To implement further the Act (Public Law 94–241) approving the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the

Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the

United States of America, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Mariana Is3 lands Covenant Implementation Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION REFORM FOR THE COMMONWEALTH

5 OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

6 (a) AMENDMENTS TO ACT APPROVING THE COV7 ENANT TO ESTABLISH A COMMONWEALTH OF THE

8 NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS IN POLITICAL UNION

9 WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.—Public Law

10 94–241 (90 Stat. 263), as amended, is further amended

11 by adding at the end thereof the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 6. TRANSITION PROGRAM.

13 ‘‘(a) ATTORNEY GENERAL FINDINGS.—

14 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM STANDARDS.—Within ninety

15 days after the date of enactment of the Northern

16 Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act, the

17 Attorney General shall determine, and publish by

18 notice in the Federal Register, minimum standards

19 that the Attorney General deems necessary to ensure

20 an effective system of immigration control for the

21 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

22 The determination of such minimum standards shall

23 rest within the sole discretion of the Attorney Gen24 eral, shall not be subject to the rulemaking require25 ments of the Administrative Procedure Act (5
3

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1 U.S.C. 533–557), and may be reviewed solely pursu2 ant to paragraph (3) of this subsection.

3 ‘‘(2) FINDINGS.—One year after the date of en4 actment of the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant

5 Implementation Act, or, if applicable, ninety days

6 after the issuance of a final judicial determination

7 pursuant to paragraph (3), whichever is later, the

8 Attorney General, after consultation with the Gov9 ernment of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar10 iana Islands, shall make the following findings:

11 ‘‘(A) whether the Government of the Com12 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

13 possesses the institutional capability to admin14 ister an effective system of immigration control,

15 consistent with the minimum standards estab16 lished under paragraph (1), and

17 ‘‘(B) if the Attorney General determines

18 that the Government of the Commonwealth of

19 the Northern Marianas possesses such institu20 tional capability, whether the Government of

21 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands has demonstrated a genuine commitment

23 to enforce an effective system of immigration

24 control consistent with the minimum standards

25 established under paragraph (1). The findings
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1 by the Attorney General regarding the institu2 tional capability of the Government of the Com3 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

4 and if applicable, the genuine commitment of

5 the Government of the Commonwealth of the

6 Northern Mariana Islands to enforce an effec7 tive system of immigration control shall be pub8 lished in the Federal Register in a timely man9 ner.

10 ‘‘(3) ACCELERATED JUDICIAL REVIEW OF MIN11 IMUM STANDARDS.—Except for review in the Su12 preme Court of the United States, the United States

13 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Cir14 cuit shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction

15 over any complaint of the Government of the Com16 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands seeking

17 review of the minimum standards established under

18 paragraph (1). No other person or entity shall have

19 the right to seek review of these minimum stand20 ards. For purposes of this paragraph, a petition for

21 review will be deemed to have been timely filed only

22 if it is made within ninety days after publication of

23 the standards in the Federal Register. It shall be the

24 duty of the reviewing court to advance on the docket

25 and to expedite to the greatest possible extent the
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1 disposition of any matter brought under this para2 graph. In the event that there is issued a final judi3 cial determination invalidating the minimum stand4 ards, the Attorney General shall have published in

5 the Federal Register new minimum standards within

6 ninety days of such final judicial determination.

7 Such new minimum standards shall be reviewable

8 solely pursuant to this paragraph.

9 ‘‘(4) ACCELERATED JUDICIAL REVIEW OF THE

10 FINDINGS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The find11 ings of the Attorney General described in subpara12 graphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2) shall be

13 deemed to be final upon publication in the Federal

14 Register, unless the Government of the Common15 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands seeks review

16 of these findings by filing a timely petition for re17 view, pursuant to this paragraph, with the United

18 States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia

19 Circuit. No other person or entity shall have the

20 right to seek review of the findings of the Attorney

21 General. For purposes of this paragraph, a petition

22 for review will be deemed to have been timely filed

23 only if it is made within ninety days of publication

24 of the findings of the Attorney General in the Fed25 eral Register. Except for review in the Supreme
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1 Court of the United States, the United States Court

2 of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit shall

3 have original and exclusive jurisdiction over any re4 view of the findings of the Attorney General. It shall

5 be the duty of the reviewing court to advance on the

6 docket and to expedite to the greatest possible extent

7 the disposition of any matter brought under this

8 paragraph. In the event that there is issued a final

9 judicial determination upholding the findings of the

10 Attorney General, then the provisions of subsections

11 (b) through (j) shall take effect 180 days after the

12 date of such a final judicial determination. In the

13 event that there is a final judicial determination in14 validating the findings of the Attorney General, sub15 ject to subparagraph (6), then the provisions of sub16 sections (b) through (j) shall not take effect. Noth17 ing in this paragraph shall limit the authority of the

18 Attorney General to make new findings pursuant to

19 paragraph (2)(B) at any time after such a final judi20 cial determination.

21 ‘‘(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subject to paragraphs

22 (4) and (6), if the Attorney General finds either that

23 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

24 does not have the institutional capability to meet the

25 minimum standards described in paragraph (2)(A)
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1 or has not demonstrated a genuine commitment to

2 enforce an effective system of immigration control

3 consistent with the minimum standards in para4 graph (2)(B), then subsections (b) through (j) shall

5 take effect 180 days after the finding is published.

6 If the Attorney General determines that the Govern7 ment of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar8 iana Islands has such institutional capability and

9 genuine commitment, subject to paragraph (6), then

10 the provisions of subsections (b) through (j) shall

11 not take effect.

12 ‘‘(6) SUBSEQUENT FINDINGS.—If the Attorney

13 General finds that the Government of the Common14 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands meets the

15 requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of para16 graph (2), the Attorney General, every three years

17 thereafter, shall make findings with respect to

18 whether the Government of the Commonwealth of

19 the Northern Mariana Islands continues to meet the

20 requirements of such subparagraphs. The subse21 quent findings of the Attorney General shall be re22 viewable solely pursuant to paragraph (4).

23 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NA24 TIONALITY ACT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRANSITION

25 PROGRAM.—Except as provided in subsection (c), the pro-
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1 visions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

2 1101) shall apply to the Commonwealth of the Northern

3 Mariana Islands: Provided, That there shall be a transi4 tion period not to exceed ten years following the effective

5 date of the provisions of subsections (b) through (j) of this

6 section (except for subsection (e)(2)(I), if needed), during

7 which the Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec8 retaries of State, Labor, and the Interior, shall establish,

9 administer, and enforce a transition program for immigra10 tion to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is11 lands (the ‘‘transition program’’). The transition program

12 established pursuant to this section shall provide for the

13 issuance of nomimmigrant temporary alien worker visas

14 pursuant to subsection (d), and, under the circumstances

15 set forth in subsection (e), for family-sponsored and em16 ployment-based immigrant visas. The transition program

17 shall be implemented pursuant to regulations to be pro18 mulgated as appropriate by each agency having respon19 sibilities under the transition program.

20 ‘‘(c) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS

21 FOR H–2B TEMPORARY WORKERS.—An alien, if other22 wise qualified, may seek admission to the Commonwealth

23 of the Northern Mariana Islands as a temporary worker

24 under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B) of the Immigration

25 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B))
9

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1 without regard to the numerical limitations set forth in

2 section 214(g) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184 (g)).

3 ‘‘(d) TEMPORARY ALIEN WORKERS.—The transition

4 program shall conform to the following requirements with

5 respect to temporary alien workers who would otherwise

6 not be eligible for nonimmigrant classification under the

7 Immigration and Nationality Act:

8 ‘‘(1) Aliens admitted under this subsection shall

9 have the same privileges as nonimmigrants under

10 section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nation11 ality Act (8 US.C. 1258), including the ability to

12 apply, if otherwise eligible, for a change of non13 immigrant status under section 248 of such Act (8

14 U.S.C. 1258), or adjustment of status, if eligible

15 therefor, under this section and section 245(e) of

16 such Act (8 U.S.C. 1255(e)).

17 ‘‘(2)(A) The Secretary of Labor shall establish,

18 administer, and enforce a system for allocating and

19 determining the number, terms, and conditions of

20 permits to be issued to prospective employers for

21 each temporary alien worker who would not other22 wise be eligible for admission under the Immigration

23 and Nationality Act. This system shall provide for a

24 reduction in the allocation of permits for such work25 ers on an annual basis, to zero, over a period not to
10

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1 exceed ten years. In no event shall a permit be valid

2 beyond the expiration of the transition period. This

3 system may be based on any reasonable method and

4 criteria determined by the Secretary of Labor to

5 promote the maximum use of, and to prevent ad6 verse effects on wages and working conditions of,

7 persons authorized to work in the United States

8 under section 274A of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1324a), and lawfully admissible

10 freely associated state citizen labor.

11 ‘‘(B) The Secretary of Labor is authorized to

12 establish and collect appropriate user fees for the

13 purpose of this section. Amounts collected pursuant

14 to this section shall be deposited in a special fund

15 of the Treasury. Such amounts shall be available, to

16 the extent and in the amounts as provided in ad17 vance in appropriations acts, for the purposes of ad18 ministering this section. Such amounts are author19 ized to be appropriated to remain available until ex20 pended.

21 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall set the condi22 tions for admission of nonimmigrant temporary alien

23 workers under the transition program, and the Sec24 retary of State shall authorize the issuance of non25 immigrant visas for aliens to engage in employment
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1 only as authorized in this subsection: Provided, That

2 such visas shall not be valid for admission to the

3 United States, as defined in section 101(a)(38) of

4 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

5 1101(a)(38)), except the Commonwealth of the

6 Northern Mariana Islands. An alien admitted to the

7 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on

8 the basis of such a nonimmigrant visa shall be per9 mitted to engage in employment only as authorized

10 pursuant to the transition program. No alien shall

11 be granted nonimmigrant classification or a visa

12 under this subsection unless the permit requirements

13 established under paragraph (2) have been met.

14 ‘‘(4) An alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pur15 suant to this subsection shall be permitted to trans16 fer between employers in the Commonwealth of the

17 Northern Mariana Islands during the period of such

18 alien’s authorized stay therein to the extent that

19 such transfer is authorized by the Attorney General

20 in accordance with criteria established by the Attor21 ney General and the Secretary of Labor.

22 ‘‘(e) IMMIGRANTS.—With the exception of immediate

23 relatives (as defined in section 201(b)(2) of the Immigra24 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)) and, ex25 cept as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), no alien shall
12

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1 be granted initial admission as a lawful permanent resi2 dent of the United States at a port-of-entry in the Com3 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port4 of-entry in Guam for the purpose of immigrating to the

5 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

6 ‘‘(1) FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

7 The Attorney General, based on a joint rec8 ommendation of the Governor and Legislature of the

9 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

10 and in consultation with appropriate federal agen11 cies, may establish a specific number of additional

12 initial admissions as a family-sponsored immigrant

13 at a port-of-entry in the Commonwealth of the

14 Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port-of-entry in

15 Guam for the purpose of immigrating to the Com16 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, pursu17 ant to sections 202 and 203(a) of the Immigration

18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152 and 1153(a))

19 during the following fiscal year.

20 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

21 ‘‘(A) If the Secretary of Labor, upon re22 ceipt of a joint recommendation of the Governor

23 and Legislature of the Commonwealth of the

24 Northern Mariana Islands, finds that excep25 tional circumstances exist with respect to the
13

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1 inability of employers in the Commonwealth of

2 the Northern Mariana Islands to obtain suffi3 cient work-authorized labor, the Attorney Gen4 eral may establish a specific number of employ5 ment-based immigrant visas to be made avail6 able during the following fiscal year under sec7 tion 203(b) of the Immigration and Nationality

8 Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)).

9 ‘‘(B) Upon notification by the Attorney

10 General that a number has been established

11 pursuant to subparagraph (A), the Secretary of

12 State may allocate up to that number of visas

13 without regard to the numerical limitations set

14 forth in sections 202 and 203(b)(3)(B) of the

15 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

16 1152 and 1153(b)(3)(B)). Visa numbers allo17 cated under this subparagraph shall be allo18 cated first from the number of visas available

19 under section 203(b)(3) of such Act (8 U.S.C.

20 1153(b)(3)), or, if such visa numbers are not

21 available, from the number of visas available

22 under section 203(b)(5) of such Act (8 U.S.C.

23 1153(b)(5)).

24 ‘‘(C) Persons granted employment-based

25 immigrant visas under the transition program
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1 may be admitted initially at a port-of-entry in

2 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is3 lands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the

4 purpose of immigrating to the Commonwealth

5 of the Northern Mariana Islands, as lawful per6 manent residents of the United States.

7 ‘‘(D) Any immigrant visa issued pursuant

8 to this paragraph shall be valid only for applica9 tion for initial admission to the Commonwealth

10 of the Northern Mariana Islands. The admis11 sion of any alien pursuant to such an immi12 grant visa shall be an admission for lawful per13 manent residence and employment only in the

14 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is15 lands during the first five years after such ad16 mission. Such admission shall not authorize

17 permanent residence or employment in any

18 other part of the United States during such

19 five-year period. An alien admitted for perma20 nent residence pursuant to this paragraph shall

21 be issued appropriate documentation identifying

22 the person as having been admitted pursuant to

23 the terms and conditions of this transition pro24 gram, and shall be required to comply with a

25 system for the registration and reporting of
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1 aliens admitted for permanent residence under

2 the transition program, to be established by the

3 Attorney General, by regulation, consistent with

4 the Attorney General’s authority under Chapter

5 7 of Title II of the Immigration and Nationality

6 Act (8 U.S.C. 1301–1306).

7 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall pre8 clude an alien who has obtained lawful perma9 nent resident status pursuant to this paragraph

10 from applying, if otherwise eligible under this

11 section and under the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act for an immigrant visa or admission as

13 a lawful permanent resident under the Immi14 gration and Nationality Act.

15 ‘‘(F) Any alien admitted under this sub16 section, who violates the provisions of this para17 graph, or who is found removable or inadmis18 sible under section 237(a) (8 U.S.C. 1227 (a)),

19 or paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4)(A), (4)(B), (6),

20 (7), (8), or (9) of section 212(a) (8 U.S.C.

21 1182(a)), shall be removed from the United

22 States pursuant to sections 239, 240, and 241

23 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8

24 U.S.C. 1229, 1230, and 1231).
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1 ‘‘(G) The Attorney General may establish

2 by regulation a procedure by which an alien

3 who has obtained lawful permanent resident

4 status pursuant to this paragraph may apply

5 for a waiver of the limitations on the terms and

6 conditions of such status. The Attorney General

7 may grant the application for waiver, in the dis8 cretion of the Attorney General, if—

9 ‘‘(i) the alien is not in removal pro10 ceedings,

11 ‘‘(ii) the alien has been a person of

12 good moral character for the preceding five

13 years,

14 ‘‘(iii) the alien has not violated the

15 terms and conditions of the alien’s perma16 nent resident status, and

17 ‘‘(iv) the alien would suffer excep18 tional and extremely unusual hardship

19 were such terms and conditions not

20 waived.

21 ‘‘(H) The limitations on the terms and

22 conditions of an alien’s permanent residence set

23 forth in this paragraph shall expire at the end

24 of five years after the alien’s admission to the

25 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is-
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1 lands as a permanent resident and the alien is

2 thereafter fully subject to the provisions of the

3 Immigration and Nationality Act. Following the

4 expiration of such limitations, the permanent

5 resident alien may engage in any lawful activ6 ity, including employment, anywhere in the

7 United States. Such an alien, if otherwise eligi8 ble for naturalization, may count the five-year

9 period in the Commonwealth of the Northern

10 Mariana Islands towards time in the United

11 States for purposes of meeting the residence re12 quirements of Title III of the Immigration and

13 Nationality Act.

14 ‘‘(I) SPECIAL PROVISION TO ENSURE ADE15 QUATE EMPLOYMENT IN THE HOTEL INDUSTRY

16 AFTER THE TRANSITION PERIOD ENDS.—Dur17 ing the fiscal year preceding the ninth anniver18 sary of the effective date of this subsection, and

19 in the fourth year of any extension thereafter,

20 the Attorney General and the Secretary of

21 Labor shall consult with the Governor of the

22 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is23 lands to ascertain the current and future labor

24 needs of the hotel industry in the Common25 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and to
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1 determine whether a five-year extension of the

2 provisions of this paragraph would be necessary

3 to ensure an adequate number of workers in the

4 hotel industry. If the Attorney General and Sec5 retary of Labor determine that such an exten6 sion is necessary to ensure an adequate number

7 of workers in the hotel industry, the Attorney

8 General shall provide notice by publication in

9 the Federal Register that the provisions of this

10 paragraph will be extended for a five-year pe11 riod with respect to the hotel industry only. The

12 Attorney General may authorize further exten13 sions of this paragraph with respect to the hotel

14 industry in the Commonwealth of the Northern

15 Mariana Islands if, after the Attorney General

16 and the Secretary of Labor have consulted with

17 the Governor of the Commonwealth of the

18 Northern Mariana Islands, the Attorney Gen19 eral determines that a further extension is re20 quired to ensure an adequate number of work21 ers in the hotel industry in the Commonwealth

22 of the Northern Mariana Islands.

23 ‘‘(f) NONIMMIGRANT INVESTOR VISAS.—

24 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding the treaty requirements

25 in section 101(a)(15)(e) of the Immigration and Na-
19

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1 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)), the Attor2 ney General may, upon the application of the alien

3 classify an alien as a nonimmigrant under section

4 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Nation5 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii)) if the alien—

6 ‘‘(A) has been admitted to the Common7 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in

8 long-term investor status under the immigration

9 laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern

10 Mariana Islands on or before the effective date

11 of this subsection;

12 ‘‘(B) has continuously maintained resi13 dence in the Commonwealth of the Northern

14 Mariana Islands under long-term investor sta15 tus;

16 ‘‘(C) is otherwise admissible; and

17 ‘‘(D) maintains the investment or invest18 ments that formed the basis for such long-term

19 investor status.

20 ‘‘(2) Within 180 days after the effective date of

21 this subsection, the Attorney General and the Sec22 retary of State shall jointly publish regulations in

23 the Federal Register to implement this subsection.

24 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall treat an alien

25 that meets the requirements of paragraph (1) as a
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1 nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the

2 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

3 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii)) until the regulations imple4 menting this subsection are published.

5 ‘‘(g) PERSONS LAWFULLY ADMITTED UNDER THE

6 COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

7 IMMIGRATION LAW.—Notwithstanding subsection (d) of

8 this section, persons who would have been lawfully present

9 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

10 pursuant to the immigration laws of the Commonwealth

11 of the Northern Mariana Islands on the effective date of

12 this subsection, shall be permitted to remain in the Com13 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for the com14 pletion of the period of admission under such laws, or for

15 two years, whichever is less.

16 ‘‘(h) TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS FOR CERTAIN APPLI17 CANTS FOR ASYLUM.—Any alien admitted to the Com18 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to

19 the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the North20 ern Mariana Islands or pursuant to subsections (d) or (e)

21 of this section who files an application seeking asylum in

22 the United States shall be required, pursuant to regula23 tions established by the Attorney General, to remain in

24 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, dur25 ing the period of time the application is being adjudicated
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1 or during any appeals filed subsequent to such adjudica2 tion. An applicant for asylum who, during the time his

3 application is being adjudicated or during any appeals

4 filed subsequent to such adjudication, leaves the Common5 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands of his own will

6 without prior authorization by the Attorney General there7 by abandons the application.

8 ‘‘(i) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—The provisions of

9 this section and the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

10 amended by the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Im11 plementation Act, shall supersede and replace all laws,

12 provisions, or programs of the Commonwealth of the

13 Northern Mariana Islands relating to the admission of

14 aliens and the removal of aliens from the Commonwealth

15 of the Northern Mariana Islands.

16 ‘‘(j) ACCRUAL OF TIME FOR PURPOSES OF SECTION

17 212(a)(9)(B) OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY

18 ACT, AS AMENDED.—No time that an alien was present

19 in violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of the North20 ern Mariana Islands shall be counted for purposes of the

21 ground of inadmissibility in section 212(a)(9)(B) of the

22 Immigration and Nationalities Act (8 U.S.C.

23 1182(a)(9)(B)) prior to the date of enactment of this sub24 section.’’
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section

2 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

3 101(a)) is amended:

4 (A) in paragraph (36), by deleting ‘‘and the

5 Virgin Islands of the United States.’’ and sub6 stituting ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States,

7 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is8 lands.’’, and;

9 (B) in paragraph (38), by deleting ‘‘and the

10 Virgin Islands of the United States’’ and sub11 stituting ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States,

12 and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is13 lands.’’.

14 (2) Section 212(1) of the Immigration and Nation15 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(1)) is amended—

16 (A) in paragraph (1)—

17 (i) by striking ‘‘stay on Guam’’, and insert18 ing ‘‘stay on Guam and the Commonwealth of

19 the Northern Mariana Islands’’,

20 (ii) by inserting ‘‘a total of ’’ after ‘‘ex21 ceed’’, and

22 (iii) by striking the words ‘‘after consulta23 tion with the Governor of Guam,’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘after respective consultation with the Governor
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1 of Guam or the Governor of the Commonwealth

2 of the Northern Mariana Islands,’’;

3 (B) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘on

4 Guam’’, and inserting ‘‘on Guam or the Common5 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, respec6 tively.’’.

7 (C) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘into

8 Guam’’, and inserting ‘‘into Guam or the Common9 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, respec10 tively,’’;

11 (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Government

12 of Guam’’ and inserting ‘‘Government of Guam or

13 the Government of the Commonwealth of the North14 ern Mariana Islands’’.

15 (3) The amendments to the Immigration and Natu16 ralization Act made by this subsection shall take effect

17 when sections 6(b) through 6(j) of Public Law 94–241

18 take effect.

19 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The Secre20 taries of Interior and Labor, in consultation with the Com21 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, shall develop

22 a program of technical assistance, including recruitment

23 and training, to aid employers in securing employees from

24 among United States labor or lawfully admissible freely

25 associated state citizen labor.
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1 (d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND DEPARTMENT OF

2 LABOR OPERATIONS.—The Attorney General and the De3 partment of Labor are authorized to establish and main4 tain Immigration and Naturalization Service, Executive

5 Office of Immigration Review, and Department of Labor

6 operations in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

7 Islands for the purpose of performing their responsibilities

8 under the Immigration and Nationality act, as amended,

9 and under the transition program. To the extent prac10 ticable and consistent with the satisfactory performance

11 of their assigned responsibilities under applicable law, the

12 Departments of Justice and Labor shall recruit and hire

13 from among qualified applicants resident in the Common14 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for staffing such

15 operations.

16 (e) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The President

17 shall report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Nat18 ural Resources, and the House Committee on Resources,

19 within six months after the fifth anniversary of the enact20 ment of this Act, evaluating the overall effect of the transi21 tion program and the Immigration and Nationality Act on

22 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and

23 at other times as the President deems appropriate.

24 (f) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF TEMPORARY WORK25 ERS PRIOR TO FINDINGS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
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1 OR APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATION2 ALITY ACT, AS AMENDED, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE

3 TRANSITION PROGRAM.—During the period between en4 actment of this Act and either the date that the Attorney

5 General finds that the Government of the Commonwealth

6 of the Northern Mariana Islands possesses the institu7 tional capability and genuine commitment to enforce an

8 effective system of immigration control under section

9 6(a)(2) of Public Law 94–241 (as amended by this Act),

10 or, if the Attorney General finds that the Government of

11 the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas fails to meet

12 such conditions, the effective date of the transition pro13 gram established under section 6 of such Act, the Govern14 ment of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is15 lands shall not permit an increase in the total number of

16 temporary alien workers who are legally present in the

17 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the

18 date of enactment of this section.

19 (g) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be

20 appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out

21 the purposes of this section and of the Immigration and

22 Nationality Act with respect to the Commonwealth of the

23 Northern Mariana Islands.
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1 (h) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsections (c) through (g)

2 of this section shall take effect when sections 6(b) through

3 6(j) of Public Law 94–241 take effect.

4 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND PURPOSE.

5 (a) This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Mariana

6 Islands Covenant Implementation Act’’.

7 (b) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE.—In recognition of the

8 need to ensure uniform adherence to long-standing funda9 mental immigration policies of the United States, it is the

10 intention of Congress in enacting this legislation—

11 (1) to ensure effective immigration control by ex12 tending the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

13 amended (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.), in full to the Com14 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, with

15 special provisions to allow for the orderly phasing-out

16 of the nonresident contract worker program of the

17 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and

18 the orderly phasing-in of Federal responsibilities over

19 immigration in the Commonwealth of the Northern

20 Mariana Islands;

21 (2) to minimize, to the greatest extent possible,

22 potential adverse effects this orderly phase-out might

23 have on the economy of the Commonwealth of the

24 Northern Mariana Islands by:
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1 (A) encouraging diversification and growth

2 of the economy of the Commonwealth of the

3 Northern Mariana Islands consistent with fun4 damental values underlying Federal immigra5 tion policy;

6 (B) recognizing local self-government, as

7 provided for in the Covenant to Establish a

8 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

9 in Political Union with the United States of

10 America through consultation with the Governor

11 and other elected officials of the Government of

12 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is13 lands by Federal agencies and by considering the

14 views and recommendations of such officials in

15 the implementation and enforcement of Federal

16 law by Federal agencies;

17 (C) assisting the Commonwealth of the

18 Northern Mariana Islands to achieve a progres19 sively higher standard of living for its citizens

20 through the provision of technical and other as21 sistance;

22 (D) providing opportunities for persons au23 thorized to work in the United States, including

24 lawfully admissible freely associated state citizen

25 labor; and
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1 (E) ensuring the ability of the locally elect2 ed officials by the Commonwealth of the Northern

3 Mariana Islands to make fundamental policy de4 cisions regarding the direction and pace of the

5 economic development and growth of the Com6 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

7 consistent with the fundamental national values

8 underlying Federal immigration policy.

9 SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION REFORM FOR THE COMMONWEALTH

10 OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

11 (a) AMENDMENTS TO ACT APPROVING THE COVENANT

12 TO ESTABLISH A COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN

13 MARIANA ISLANDS IN POLITICAL UNION WITH THE UNITED

14 STATES OF AMERICA.—Public Law 94–241 (90 Stat. 263),

15 as amended, is further amended by adding at the end there16 of the following:

17 ‘‘SEC. 6. IMMIGRATION AND TRANSITION.

18 ‘‘(a) APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATION19 ALITY ACT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A TRANSITION PRO20 GRAM.—Effective on the first day of the first full month

21 commencing one year after the date of enactment of the

22 Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementation Act

23 (hereafter the ‘‘transition program effective date’’), the pro24 visions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amend25 ed (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.) shall apply to the Commonwealth
29

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1 of the Northern Mariana Islands: Provided, That there shall

2 be a transition period ending December 31, 2009 (except

3 for subsection (d)(2)(I)), following the transition program

4 effective date, during which the Attorney General of the

5 United States (hereafter ‘‘Attorney General’’), in consulta6 tion with the United States Secretaries of State, Labor, and

7 the Interior, shall establish, administer, and enforce a tran8 sition program for immigration to the Commonwealth of

9 the Northern Mariana Islands provided in subsections (b),

10 (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), and (j) of this section (hereafter the

11 ‘‘transition program’’). The transition program shall be im12 plemented pursuant to regulations to be promulgated as ap13 propriate by each agency having responsibilities under the

14 transition program.

15 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION FROM NUMERICAL LIMITATIONS FOR

16 H–2B TEMPORARY WORKERS.—An alien, if otherwise

17 qualified, may seek admission to the Commonwealth of the

18 Northern Mariana Islands as a temporary worker under

19 section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B) of the Immigration and Na20 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(B)) without re21 gard to the numerical limitations set forth in section 214(g)

22 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(g)).

23 ‘‘(c) TEMPORARY ALIEN WORKERS.—The transition

24 program shall conform to the following requirements with

25 respect to temporary alien workers who would otherwise not
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1 be eligible for nonimmigrant classification under the Immi2 gration and Nationality Act:

3 ‘‘(1) Aliens admitted under this subsection shall

4 be treated as nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15)

5 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

6 1101(a)(15)), including the ability to apply, if other7 wise eligible, for a change of nonimmigrant classifica8 tion under section 248 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1258),

9 or adjustment of status, if eligible therefor, under this

10 section and section 245 of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1255).

11 ‘‘(2)(A) The United States Secretary of Labor

12 shall establish, administer, and enforce a system for

13 allocating and determining the number, terms, and

14 conditions of permits to be issued to prospective em15 ployers for each temporary alien worker who would

16 not otherwise be eligible for admission under the Im17 migration and Nationality Act. This system shall

18 provide for a reduction in the allocation of permits

19 for such workers on an annual basis, to zero, over a

20 period not to extend beyond December 31, 2009, and

21 shall take into account the number of petitions grant22 ed under subsection (j). In no event shall a permit be

23 valid beyond the expiration of the transition period.

24 This system may be based on any reasonable method

25 and criteria determined by the United States Sec-
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1 retary of Labor to promote the maximum use of, and

2 to prevent adverse effects on wages and working con3 ditions of, persons authorized to work in the United

4 States, including lawfully admissible freely associated

5 state citizen labor, taking into consideration the objec6 tive of providing as smooth a transition as possible

7 to the full application of federal law.

8 ‘‘(B) The United States Secretary of Labor is

9 authorized to establish and collect appropriate user

10 fees for the purposes of this section. Amounts collected

11 pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a special

12 fund of the Treasury. Such amounts shall be avail13 able, to the extent and in the amounts as provided in

14 advance in appropriations acts, for the purposes of

15 administering this section. Such amounts are author16 ized to be appropriated to remain available until ex17 pended.

18 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall set the condi19 tions for admission of nonimmigrant temporary alien

20 workers under the transition program, and the

21 United States Secretary of State shall authorize the

22 issuance of nonimmigrant visas for aliens to engage

23 in employment only as authorized in this subsection:

24 Provided, That such visas shall not be valid for ad25 mission to the United States, as defined in section
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1 101(a)(38) of the Immigration and Nationality Act

2 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38)), except the Commonwealth of

3 the Northern Mariana Islands. An alien admitted to

4 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

5 on the basis of such a nonimmigrant visa shall be

6 permitted to engage in employment only as author7 ized pursuant to the transition program. No alien

8 shall be granted nonimmigrant classification or a

9 visa under this subsection unless the permit require10 ments established under paragraph (2) have been met.

11 ‘‘(4) An alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pur12 suant to this subsection shall be permitted to transfer

13 between employers in the Commonwealth of the North14 ern Mariana Islands during the period of such alien’s

15 authorized stay therein, without advance permission

16 of the employee’s current or prior employer, to the ex17 tent that such transfer is authorized by the Attorney

18 General in accordance with criteria established by the

19 Attorney General and the United States Secretary of

20 Labor.

21 ‘‘(d) IMMIGRANTS.—With the exception of immediate

22 relatives (as defined in section 201(b)(2) of the Immigration

23 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(b)(2)) and persons

24 granted an immigrant visa as provided in paragraphs (1)

25 and (2) of this subsection, no alien shall be granted initial
33

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1 admission as a lawful permanent resident of the United

2 States at a port-of-entry in the Commonwealth of the North3 ern Mariana Islands, or a port-of-entry in Guam for the

4 purpose of immigrating to the Commonwealth of the North5 ern Mariana Islands.

6 ‘‘(1) FAMILY-SPONSORED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

7 For any fiscal year during which the transition pro8 gram will be in effect, the Attorney General, after

9 consultation with the Governor and the leadership of

10 the Legislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern

11 Mariana Islands, and in consultation with appro12 priate federal agencies, may establish a specific num13 ber of additional initial admissions as a family-spon14 sored immigrant at a port-of-entry in the Common15 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port16 of-entry in Guam for the purpose of immigrating to

17 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

18 pursuant to sections 202 and 203(a) of the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152 and

20 1153(a)).

21 ‘‘(2) EMPLOYMENT-BASED IMMIGRANT VISAS.—

22 ‘‘(A) If the Attorney General, after consulta23 tion with the United States Secretary of Labor

24 and the Governor and the leadership of the Leg25 islature of the Commonwealth of the Northern
34

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1 Mariana Islands, finds that exceptional cir2 cumstances exist with respect to the inability of

3 employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern

4 Mariana Islands to obtain sufficient work-au5 thorized labor, the Attorney General may estab6 lish a specific number of employment-based im7 migrant visas to be made available during the

8 following fiscal year under section 203(b) of the

9 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.

10 1153(b)). The labor certification requirements of

11 section 212(a)(5) of the Immigration and Na12 tionality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5))

13 shall not apply to an alien seeking immigration

14 benefits under this subsection.

15 ‘‘(B) Upon notification by the Attorney

16 General that a number has been established pur17 suant to subparagraph (A), the United States

18 Secretary of State may allocate up to that num19 ber of visas without regard to the numerical lim20 itations set forth in sections 202 and

21 203(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and Nation22 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1152 and 1153(b)(3)(B)).

23 Visa numbers allocated under this paragraph

24 shall be allocated first from the number of visas

25 available under section 203(b)(3) of such Act (8
35

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1 U.S.C. 1153(b)(3)), or, if such visa numbers are

2 not available, from the number of visas available

3 under section 203(b)(5) of such Act (8 U.S.C.

4 1153(b)(5)).

5 ‘‘(C) Persons granted employment-based im6 migrant visas under the transition program may

7 be admitted initially at a port-of-entry in the

8 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

9 or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose of

10 immigrating to the Commonwealth of the North11 ern Mariana Islands, as lawful permanent resi12 dents of the United States. Persons who would

13 otherwise be eligible for lawful permanent resi14 dence under the transition program, and who

15 would otherwise be eligible for an adjustment of

16 status, may have their status adjusted within the

17 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

18 to that of an alien lawfully admitted for perma19 nent residence.

20 ‘‘(D) Any immigrant visa issued pursuant

21 to this paragraph shall be valid only for applica22 tion for initial admission to the Commonwealth

23 of the Northern Mariana Islands. The admission

24 of any alien pursuant to such an immigrant

25 visa shall be an admission for lawful permanent
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1 residence and employment only in the Common2 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands during

3 the first five years after such admission. Such

4 admission shall not authorize residence or em5 ployment in any other part of the United States

6 during such five-year period. An alien admitted

7 for permanent residence pursuant to this para8 graph shall be issued appropriate documentation

9 identifying the person as having been admitted

10 pursuant to the terms and conditions of this

11 transition program, and shall be required to

12 comply with a system for the registration and

13 reporting of aliens admitted for permanent resi14 dence under the transition program, to be estab15 lished by the Attorney General, by regulation,

16 consistent with the Attorney General’s authority

17 under chapter 7 of title II of the Immigration

18 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1301–1306).

19 ‘‘(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall pre20 clude an alien who has obtained lawful perma21 nent resident status pursuant to this paragraph

22 from applying, if otherwise eligible, under this

23 section and under the Immigration and Nation24 ality Act for an immigrant visa or admission as
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1 a lawful permanent resident under the Immigra2 tion and Nationality Act.

3 ‘‘(F) Any alien admitted under this sub4 section, who violates the provisions of this para5 graph, or who is found removable or inadmis6 sible under section 237(a) (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)), or

7 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4)(A), (4)(B), (6), (7),

8 (8), (9), or (10) of section 212(a) (8 U.S.C.

9 1182(a)), shall be removed from the United

10 States pursuant to sections 235, 238, 239, 240,

11 or 241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act,

12 as appropriate (8 U.S.C. 1225, 1228, 1229,

13 1230, and 1231).

14 ‘‘(G) The Attorney General may establish by

15 regulation a procedure by which an alien who

16 has obtained lawful permanent resident status

17 pursuant to this paragraph may apply for a

18 waiver of the limiting terms and conditions of

19 such status. The Attorney General may grant the

20 application for waiver, in the discretion of the

21 Attorney General, if—

22 ‘‘(i) the alien is not in removal pro23 ceedings;
38

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1 ‘‘(ii) the alien has been a person of

2 good moral character for the preceding five

3 years;

4 ‘‘(iii) the alien has not violated the

5 terms and conditions of the alien’s perma6 nent resident status; and

7 ‘‘(iv) the alien would suffer exceptional

8 and extremely unusual hardship were such

9 limiting terms and conditions not waived.

10 ‘‘(H) The limiting terms and conditions of

11 an alien’s permanent residence set forth in this

12 paragraph shall expire at the end of five years

13 after the alien’s admission to the Commonwealth

14 of the Northern Mariana Islands as a permanent

15 resident. Following the expiration of such lim16 iting terms and conditions, the permanent resi17 dent alien may engage in any lawful activity,

18 including employment, anywhere in the United

19 States. Such an alien, if otherwise eligible for

20 naturalization, may count the five-year period

21 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

22 Islands towards time in the United States for

23 purposes of meeting the residence requirements of

24 title III of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
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1 ‘‘(I) SPECIAL PROVISION TO ENSURE ADE2 QUATE EMPLOYMENT IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

3 AFTER THE TRANSITION PERIOD ENDS.—

4 ‘‘(i) During 2008, and in 2014 if a

5 five year extension was granted, the Attor6 ney General and the United States Sec7 retary of Labor shall consult with the Gov8 ernor of the Commonwealth of the Northern

9 Mariana Islands and tourism businesses in

10 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

11 Islands to ascertain the current and future

12 labor needs of the tourism industry in the

13 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is14 lands, and to determine whether a five-year

15 extension of the provisions of this para16 graph (d)(2) would be necessary to ensure

17 an adequate number of workers for legiti18 mate businesses in the tourism industry.

19 For the purpose of this section, a business

20 shall not be considered legitimate if it en21 gages directly or indirectly in prostitution

22 or any activity that is illegal under Federal

23 or local law. The determination of whether

24 a business is legitimate and whether it is

25 sufficiently related to the tourism industry
40

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1 shall be made by the Attorney General in

2 his sole discretion and shall not be review3 able. If the Attorney General after consulta4 tion with the United States Secretary of

5 Labor determines, in the Attorney General’s

6 sole and unreviewable discretion, that such

7 an extension is necessary to ensure an ade8 quate number of workers for legitimate busi9 nesses in the tourism industry, the Attorney

10 General shall provide notice by publication

11 in the Federal Register that the provisions

12 of this paragraph will be extended for a

13 five-year period with respect to the tourism

14 industry only. The Attorney General may

15 authorize one further extension of this para16 graph with respect to the tourism industry

17 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar18 iana Islands if, after the Attorney General

19 consults with the United States Secretary of

20 Labor and the Governor of the Common21 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,

22 and local tourism businesses, the Attorney

23 General determines, in the Attorney Gen24 eral’s sole discretion, that a further exten25 sion is required to ensure an adequate num-
41

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1 ber of workers for legitimate businesses in

2 the tourism industry in the Commonwealth

3 of the Northern Mariana Islands. The deter4 mination as to whether a further extension

5 is required shall not be reviewable.

6 ‘‘(ii) The Attorney General, after con7 sultation with the Governor of the Common8 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and

9 the United States Secretary of Labor and

10 the United States Secretary of Commerce,

11 may extend the provisions of this paragraph

12 (d)(2) to legitimate businesses in industries

13 outside the tourism industry for a single

14 five year period if the Attorney General, in

15 the Attorney General’s sole discretion, con16 cludes that such extension is necessary to

17 ensure an adequate number of workers in

18 that industry and that the industry is im19 portant to growth or diversification of the

20 local economy. The decision by the Attorney

21 General shall not be reviewable.

22 ‘‘(iii) In making his determination for

23 the tourism industry or for industries out24 side the tourism industry, the Attorney

25 General shall take into consideration the ex-
42

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1 tent to which a training and recruitment

2 program has been implemented to hire per3 sons authorized to work in the United

4 States, including lawfully admissible freely

5 associated state citizen labor to work in

6 such industry. The determination by the At7 torney General shall not be reviewable. No

8 additional extension beyond the initial five

9 year period may be granted for any indus10 try outside the tourism industry or for the

11 tourism industry beyond a second extension.

12 If an extension is granted, the Attorney

13 General shall submit a report to the Com14 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of

15 the Senate and the Committee on Resources

16 of the House of Representatives setting forth

17 the reasons for the extension and whether he

18 believes authority for additional extensions

19 should be enacted.

20 ‘‘(e) NONIMMIGRANT INVESTOR VISAS.—

21 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding the treaty requirements in

22 section 101(a)(15)(E) of the Immigration and Na23 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)), the Attorney

24 General may, upon the application of the alien, clas25 sify an alien as a nonimmigrant under section
43

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1 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality

2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii)) if the alien—

3 ‘‘(A) has been admitted to the Common4 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in long5 term investor status under the immigration laws

6 of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

7 Islands before the transition program effective

8 date;

9 ‘‘(B) has continuously maintained residence

10 in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

11 Islands under long-term investor status;

12 ‘‘(C) is otherwise admissible; and

13 ‘‘(D) maintains the investment or invest14 ments that formed the basis for such long-term

15 investor status.

16 ‘‘(2) Within 180 days after the transition pro17 gram effective date, the Attorney General and the

18 United States Secretary of State shall jointly publish

19 regulations in the Federal Register to implement this

20 subsection.

21 ‘‘(3) The Attorney General shall treat an alien

22 who meets the requirements of paragraph (1) as a

23 nonimmigrant under section 101(a)(15)(E)(ii) of the

24 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
44

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1 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii) until the regulations implementing

2 this subsection are published.

3 ‘‘(f) PERSONS LAWFULLY ADMITTED UNDER THE

4 COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

5 IMMIGRATION LAW.—

6 ‘‘(1) No alien who is lawfully present in the

7 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pur8 suant to the immigration laws of the Commonwealth

9 of the Northern Mariana Islands on the transition

10 program effective date shall be removed from the

11 United States on the ground that such alien’s pres12 ence in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

13 Islands is in violation of subparagraph 212(a)(6)(A)

14 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended,

15 until completion of the period of the alien’s admission

16 under the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of

17 the Northern Mariana Islands, or the second anniver18 sary of the transition program effective date, which19 ever comes first. Nothing in this subsection shall be

20 construed to prevent or limit the removal under sub21 paragraph 212(a)(6)(A) of such an alien at any time,

22 if the alien entered the Commonwealth of the North23 ern Mariana Islands after the date of enactment of

24 the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Implementa25 tion Act, and the Attorney General has determined
45

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1 that the Government of the Commonwealth of the

2 Northern Mariana Islands violated subsection (f) of

3 such Act.

4 ‘‘(2) Any alien who is lawfully present and au5 thorized to be employed in the Commonwealth of the

6 Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigra7 tion laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar8 iana Islands on the transition program effective date

9 shall be considered authorized by the Attorney Gen10 eral to be employed in the Commonwealth of the

11 Northern Mariana Islands until the expiration of the

12 alien’s employment authorization under the immigra13 tion laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar14 iana Islands, or the second anniversary of the transi15 tion program effective date, whichever comes first.

16 ‘‘(g) TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS FOR CERTAIN APPLI17 CANTS FOR ASYLUM.—Any alien admitted to the Common18 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to the

19 immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern

20 Mariana Islands or pursuant to subsections (c) or (d) of

21 this section who files an application seeking asylum or

22 withholding of removal in the United States shall be re23 quired to remain in the Commonwealth of the Northern

24 Mariana Islands during the period of time the application

25 is being adjudicated or during any appeals filed subsequent
46

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1 to such adjudication. An applicant for asylum or with2 holding of removal who, during the time his application

3 is being adjudicated or during any appeals filed subsequent

4 to such adjudication, leaves the Commonwealth of the

5 Northern Mariana Islands of his own will without prior

6 authorization by the Attorney General thereby abandons the

7 application, unless the Attorney General, in the exercise of

8 the Attorney General’s sole discretion determines that the

9 unauthorized departure was for emergency reasons and

10 prior authorization was not practicable.

11 ‘‘(h) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—The provisions of this

12 section and the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

13 amended by the Northern Mariana Islands Covenant Imple14 mentation Act, shall, on the transition program effective

15 date, supersede and replace all laws, provisions, or pro16 grams of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is17 lands relating to the admission of aliens and the removal

18 of aliens from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana

19 Islands.

20 ‘‘(i) ACCRUAL OF TIME FOR PURPOSES OF SECTION

21 212(a)(9)(B) OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT,

22 AS AMENDED.—No time that an alien is present in viola23 tion of the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the

24 Northern Mariana Islands shall by reason of such violation

25 be counted for purposes of the ground of inadmissibility in
47

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1 section 212(a)(9)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality

2 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B)).

3 ‘‘(j) ONE-TIME GRANDFATHER PROVISION FOR CER4 TAIN LONG-TERM EMPLOYEES.—

5 ‘‘(1) An alien may be granted an immigrant

6 visa, or have his or her status adjusted in the Com7 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to that

8 of an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi9 dence, without regard to the numerical limitations set

10 forth in sections 202 and 203(b) of the Immigration

11 and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1152,

12 1153(b)), and subject to the limiting terms and condi13 tions of an alien’s permanent residence set forth in

14 paragraphs (C) through (H) of subsection (d)(2), if:

15 ‘‘(A) the alien is employed directly by an

16 employer in a business that the Attorney General

17 has determined is legitimate;

18 ‘‘(B) the employer has filed a petition for

19 classification of the alien as an employment20 based immigrant with the Attorney General pur21 suant to section 204 of the Immigration and Na22 tionality Act, as amended, not later than 180

23 days following the transition program effective

24 date;
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1 ‘‘(C) the alien has been lawfully present in

2 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is3 lands and authorized to be employed in the Com4 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for

5 the five-year period immediately preceding the

6 filing of the petition;

7 ‘‘(D) the alien has been employed continu8 ously in that business by the petitioning em9 ployer for the 5-year period immediately pre10 ceding the filing of the petition;

11 ‘‘(E) the alien continues to be employed in

12 that business by the petitioning employer at the

13 time the immigrant visa is granted or the alien’s

14 status is adjusted to permanent resident;

15 ‘‘(F) the petitioner’s business has a reason16 able expectation of generating sufficient revenue

17 to continue to employ the alien in that business

18 for the succeeding five years; and

19 ‘‘(G) the alien is otherwise eligible for ad20 mission to the United States under the provi21 sions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as

22 amended (8 U.S.C. 1101, et seq.).

23 ‘‘(2) Visa numbers allocated under this sub24 section shall be allocated first from the number of

25 visas available under paragraph 203(b)(3) of the Im-
49

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1 migration and Nationality Act, as amended (8 U.S.C.

2 1153(b)(3)), or, if such visa numbers are not avail3 able, from the number of visas available under para4 graph 203(b)(5) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 1153(b)(5)).

5 ‘‘(3) The labor certification requirements of sec6 tion 212(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality

7 Act, as amended (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(5)) shall not

8 apply to an alien seeking immigration benefits under

9 this subsection.

10 ‘‘(4) The fact that an alien is the beneficiary of

11 an application for a preference status that was filed

12 with the Attorney General under section 204 of the

13 Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended (8

14 U.S.C. 1154) for the purpose of obtaining benefits

15 under this subsection, or has otherwise sought perma16 nent residence pursuant to this subsection, shall not

17 render the alien ineligible to obtain or maintain the

18 status of a nonimmigrant under this Act or the Im19 migration and Nationality Act, as amended, if the

20 alien is otherwise eligible for such nonimmigrant sta21 tus.’’.

22 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section 101(a)

23 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a))

24 is amended:
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1 (A) in paragraph (36), by deleting ‘‘and the Vir2 gin Islands of the United States.’’ and substituting

3 ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the

4 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.’’,

5 and;

6 (B) in paragraph (38), by deleting ‘‘and the Vir7 gin Islands of the United States’’ and substituting

8 ‘‘the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the

9 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.’’.

10 (2) Section 212(l) of the Immigration and Nationality

11 Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(l)) is amended—

12 (A) in paragraph (1)—

13 (i) by striking ‘‘stay on Guam’’, and insert14 ing ‘‘stay on Guam or the Commonwealth of the

15 Northern Mariana Islands’’,

16 (ii) by inserting ‘‘a total of ’’ after ‘‘exceed’’,

17 and

18 (iii) by striking the words ‘‘after consulta19 tion with the Governor of Guam,’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘after respective consultation with the Governor

21 of Guam or the Governor of the Commonwealth

22 of the Northern Mariana Islands,’’;

23 (B) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘on

24 Guam’’, and inserting ‘‘on Guam or the Common-
51

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1 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, respec2 tively,’’;

3 (C) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘into

4 Guam’’, and inserting ‘‘into Guam or the Common5 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, respec6 tively,’’; and

7 (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Government

8 of Guam’’ and inserting ‘‘Government of Guam or the

9 Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern

10 Mariana Islands’’.

11 (3) The amendments to the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act made by this subsection shall take effect on the

13 first day of the first full month commencing one year after

14 the date of enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands Cov15 enant Implementation Act.

16 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The United

17 States Secretaries of Interior and Labor, in consultation

18 with the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern

19 Mariana Islands, shall develop a program of technical as20 sistance, including recruitment and training, to aid em21 ployers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands in securing employees from among United States au23 thorized labor, including lawfully admissible freely associ24 ated state citizen labor. In addition, for the first five fiscal

25 years following the fiscal year when this section is enacted,
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1 $500,000 shall be made available from funds appropriated

2 to the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to Public Law

3 104–134 for the Federal-CNMI Immigration, Labor and

4 Law Enforcement Initiative for the following activities:

5 (1) $200,000 shall be available to reimburse the

6 United States Secretary of Commerce for providing

7 additional technical assistance and other support to

8 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

9 to identify opportunities for and encourage diver10 sification and growth of the Commonwealth economy.

11 The United States Secretary of Commerce shall con12 sult with the Government of the Commonwealth of the

13 Northern Mariana Islands, local businesses, the

14 United States Secretary of the Interior, regional

15 banks, and other experts in the local economy and

16 shall assist in the development and implementation of

17 a process to identify opportunities for and encourage

18 diversification and growth of the Commonwealth

19 economy. All expenditures, other than for the costs of

20 Federal personnel, shall require a non-Federal match21 ing contribution of 50 percent and the United States

22 Secretary of Commerce shall provide a report on ac23 tivities to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re24 sources and the Committee on Appropriations of the

25 Senate and the Committee on Resources and the Com-
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1 mittee on Appropriations of the House of Representa2 tives by March 1 of each year. The United States Sec3 retary of Commerce may supplement the funds pro4 vided under this section with other funds and re5 sources available to him and shall undertake such

6 other activities, pursuant to existing authorities of the

7 Department, as he decides will encourage diversifica8 tion and growth of the Commonwealth economy. If the

9 United States Secretary of Commerce concludes that

10 additional workers may be needed to achieve diver11 sification and growth of the Commonwealth economy,

12 the Secretary shall promptly notify the Attorney Gen13 eral and the United States Secretary of Labor and

14 shall also notify the Committee on Energy and Nat15 ural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on

16 Resources of the House of Representatives of his con17 clusion with an explanation of how many workers

18 may be needed, over what period of time such workers

19 will be needed, and what efforts are being undertaken

20 to train and actively recruit and hire persons author21 ized to work in the United States, including lawfully

22 admissible freely associated state citizen labor to work

23 in such businesses.

24 (2) $300,000 shall be available to reimburse the

25 United States Secretary of Labor for providing addi-
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1 tional technical and other support to the Common2 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to train and

3 actively recruit and hire persons authorized to work

4 in the United States, including lawfully admissible

5 freely associated state citizen labor, to fill employment

6 vacancies in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar7 iana Islands. The United States Secretary of Labor

8 shall consult with the Governor of the Commonwealth

9 of the Northern Mariana Islands, local businesses, the

10 College of the Northern Marianas, the United States

11 Secretary of the Interior and the United States Sec12 retary of Commerce and shall assist in the develop13 ment and implementation of such a training pro14 gram. All expenditures, other than for the costs of

15 Federal personnel, shall require a non-Federal match16 ing contribution of 50 percent and the United States

17 Secretary of Labor shall provide a report on activities

18 to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

19 and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate

20 and the Committee on Resources and the Committee

21 on Appropriations of the House of Representatives by

22 March 1 of each year. The United States Secretary

23 of Labor may supplement the funds provided under

24 this section with other funds and resources available

25 to him and shall undertake such other activities, pur-
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1 suant to existing authorities of the Department, as

2 he decides will assist in such a training program in

3 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

4 (d) DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND DEPARTMENT OF

5 LABOR OPERATIONS.—The Attorney General and the

6 United States Secretary of Labor are authorized to establish

7 and maintain Immigration and Naturalization Service,

8 Executive Office for Immigration Review, and United

9 States Department of Labor operations in the Common10 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands for the purpose of

11 performing their responsibilities under the Immigration

12 and Nationality Act, as amended, and under the transition

13 program. To the extent practicable and consistent with the

14 satisfactory performance of their assigned responsibilities

15 under applicable law, the United States Departments of

16 Justice and Labor shall recruit and hire from among quali17 fied applicants resident in the Commonwealth of the North18 ern Mariana Islands for staffing such operations.

19 (e) REPORT TO THE CONGRESS.—The President shall

20 report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Re21 sources, and the House Committee on Resources, within six

22 months after the fifth anniversary of the enactment of this

23 Act, evaluating the overall effect of the transition program

24 and the Immigration and Nationality Act on the Common25 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and at other times
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1 as the President deems appropriate. The report shall de2 scribe what efforts have been undertaken to diversify and

3 strengthen the local economy, including, but not limited to,

4 efforts to promote the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar5 iana Islands as a tourist destination.

6 (f) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF ALIEN WORKERS

7 PRIOR TO APPLICATION OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATION8 ALITY ACT, AS AMENDED, AND ESTABLISHMENT OF THE

9 TRANSITION PROGRAM.—During the period between enact10 ment of this Act and the effective date of the transition pro11 gram established under section 6 of Public Law 94–241,

12 as amended by this Act, the Government of the Common13 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall not permit

14 an increase in the total number of alien workers who are

15 present in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is16 lands on the date of enactment of this Act.

17 (g) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be ap18 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the

19 purposes of this section and of the Immigration and Nation20 ality Act with respect to the Commonwealth of the Northern

21 Mariana Islands.