I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1466 

To resolve the status of certain persons legally residing in the Commonwealth 

of the Northern Mariana Islands under the immigration laws of the 

United States. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 8, 2011 

Mr. SABLAN (for himself, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, and Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To resolve the status of certain persons legally residing in 

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands 

under the immigration laws of the United States. 

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

3 SECTION 1. PURPOSE. 

4 The purpose of this Act is to provide to certain per5 sons residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mar6 iana Islands a status applicable solely within the CommonVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:25 Apr 12, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1466.IH H1466

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1 wealth in order to allow such persons to remain lawfully 

2 in the Commonwealth. 

3 SEC. 2. TECHNICAL AND CLARIFYING AMENDMENTS RE4 LATED TO REFORM IN THE COMMONWEALTH 

5 OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS. 

6 Section (6)(e) of the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘A 

7 Joint Resolution to approve the ‘Covenant to Establish a 

8 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Polit9 ical Union with the United States of America’, and for 

10 other purposes’’, approved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 

11 1806(e)), as added by section 702 of the Consolidated 

12 Natural Resources Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–229; 

13 1222 Stat. 854), is amended by inserting after paragraph 

14 (5) the following: 

15 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL PROVISION REGARDING LONG

16 TERM RESIDENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH.— 

17 ‘‘(A) CNMI-ONLY RESIDENT STATUS.— 

18 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), an alien de19 scribed in subparagraph (C) may, upon the ap20 plication of the alien, be admitted as an immi21 grant to the Commonwealth subject to the fol22 lowing rules: 

23 ‘‘(i) The alien shall be treated as a 

24 permanent resident of the Commonwealth 

25 only, including permitting entry to and exit 


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1 from the Commonwealth, until the earlier 

2 of the date that— 

3 ‘‘(I) the alien ceases to perma4 nently reside in the Commonwealth; 

5 or 

6 ‘‘(II) the alien’s status is ad7 justed under this section or section 

8 245 of the Immigration and Nation9 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) to that of 

10 an alien lawfully admitted for perma11 nent residence, as defined under sec12 tion 101(a)(20) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

13 1101(a)(20)), if the alien is otherwise 

14 eligible for such an adjustment. 

15 ‘‘(ii) Unless otherwise authorized, the 

16 alien shall not be permitted to travel to, or 

17 reside in, any part of the United States, as 

18 defined in section 101(a)(38) of such Act 

19 (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38)), other than the 

20 Commonwealth. 

21 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary of Homeland Se22 curity shall establish a process for such 

23 aliens to apply for CNMI-only permanent 

24 resident status during the 90-day period 

25 beginning on the first day of the sixth 


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1 month after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY TO WAIVE CERTAIN REG4 ULATORY REQUIREMENTS.—The requirements 

5 of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code 

6 (commonly referred to as the ‘Administrative 

7 Procedure Act’), chapter 35 of title 44, United 

8 States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘Pa9 perwork Reduction Act’), or any other law re10 lating to rulemaking, information collection, or 

11 publication in the Federal Register, shall not 

12 apply to any action to implement subparagraph 

13 (A) to the extent the Secretary of Homeland 

14 Security determines that compliance with any 

15 such requirement would impede the expeditious 

16 implementation of such paragraph. 

17 ‘‘(C) ALIENS DESCRIBED.—An alien is de18 scribed in this subparagraph if— 

19 ‘‘(i) the alien is otherwise admissible 

20 to the United States under the Immigra21 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

22 seq.); 

23 ‘‘(ii) the alien resided in the Common24 wealth— 

25 ‘‘(I) on November 28, 2009; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) on the date of the enact2 ment of this Act; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the alien— 

4 ‘‘(I) was born in the Northern 

5 Mariana Islands between January 1, 

6 1974, and January 9, 1978; 

7 ‘‘(II) was, on May 8, 2008, a 

8 permanent resident as that term is 

9 defined in section 4303 of Title 3 of 

10 the Northern Mariana Islands Com11 monwealth Code in effect on May 8, 

12 2008; 

13 ‘‘(III) is the spouse or child, as 

14 defined in section 101(b)(1) of the 

15 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1)), of an alien de17 scribed in subclauses (I) or (II); or 

18 ‘‘(IV) was, on May 8, 2008, an 

19 immediate relative, as that term is de20 fined in section 4303 of Title 3 of the 

21 Northern Mariana Islands Common22 wealth Code in effect on May 8, 2008, 

23 of a United States citizen, not with24 standing the age of the United States 

25 citizen, and continues to be such an 


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1 immediate relative on the date of the 

2 application described under subpara3 graph (A). 

4 ‘‘(D) ADJUSTMENT FOR LONG TERM AND

5 PERMANENT RESIDENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An alien described 

7 in clauses (I), (II), or (III) of subpara8 graph (C)(iii) may apply to receive an im9 migrant visa or to adjust his or her status 

10 to that of an alien lawfully admitted for 

11 permanent residence on or after January 

12 1, 2015, and before January 1, 2016. 

13 ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION OF IMMIGRANT

14 VISAS.—Upon the granting of an immi15 grant visa or approval of an application for 

16 permanent residence to an alien under this 

17 subparagraph, the Secretary of State shall 

18 reduce by one the total number of diversity 

19 immigrant visas authorized to be issued 

20 under section 201(e) of the Immigration 

21 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151(e)) for 

22 the fiscal year then current. 

23 ‘‘(iii) FEES.—With respect to applica24 tions for CNMI-only permanent resident 

25 status, an immigrant visa or to adjust staVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:08 Apr 12, 2011 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1466.IH H1466

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1 tus to that of an alien lawfully admitted 

2 for permanent residence submitted by an 

3 alien described in clause (iii) of subpara4 graph (C), the Secretary of State and the 

5 Secretary of Homeland Security— 

6 ‘‘(I) may, in the discretion of 

7 each such Secretary, reduce the fees 

8 collected from the alien for CNMI9 only permanent resident status, an 

10 immigrant visa, or an adjustment of 

11 status; and 

12 ‘‘(II) shall, if applicable, waive 

13 the affidavit of support requirement 

14 under section 213A of such Act (8 

15 U.S.C. 1183a) and subparagraphs 

16 (B)(ii) and (C)(ii) of section 

17 212(a)(4) of such Act (8 U.S.C. 

18 1182(a)(4)).’’. 

Æ 


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