IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5956 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 6, 2018 

Received 

AN ACT 

To incentivize the hiring of United States workers in the 

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Mariana Is3 lands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

5 The purposes of this Act are— 

6 (1) to increase the percentage of United States 

7 workers (as defined in section 6(i) of the Joint Reso8 lution entitled ‘‘A Joint Resolution to approve the 

9 ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the 

10 Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with 

11 the United States of America’, and for other pur12 poses’’ (48 U.S.C. 1806)) in the total workforce of 

13 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is14 lands, while maintaining the minimum number of 

15 workers who are not United States workers to meet 

16 the changing demands of the Northern Mariana Is17 lands’ economy; 

18 (2) to encourage the hiring of United States 

19 workers into such workforce; and 

20 (3) to ensure that no United States worker— 

21 (A) is at a competitive disadvantage for 

22 employment compared to a worker who is not 

23 a United States worker; or 

24 (B) is displaced by a worker who is not a 

25 United States worker. 


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1 SEC. 3. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6 of the Joint Resolution 

3 entitled ‘‘A Joint Resolution to approve the ‘Covenant To 

4 Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is5 lands in Political Union with the United States of Amer6 ica’, and for other purposes’’ (48 U.S.C. 1806) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2019’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

11 (B) by amending paragraph (6) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(6) FEES FOR TRAINING UNITED STATES

14 WORKERS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) SUPPLEMENTAL FEE.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In addition to fees 

17 imposed pursuant to section 286(m) of the 

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

19 1356(m)) to recover the full costs of adju20 dication services, the Secretary shall im21 pose an annual supplemental fee of $200 

22 per nonimmigrant worker on each prospec23 tive employer who is issued a permit under 

24 subsection (d)(3) during the transition pro25 gram. A prospective employer that is 

26 issued a permit with a validity period of 


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1 longer than 1 year shall pay the fee for 

2 each year of requested validity at the time 

3 the permit is requested. 

4 ‘‘(ii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Be5 ginning in fiscal year 2020, the Secretary, 

6 through notice in the Federal Register, 

7 may annually adjust the supplemental fee 

8 imposed under clause (i) by a percentage 

9 equal to the annual change in the Con10 sumer Price Index for All Urban Con11 sumers published by the Bureau of Labor 

12 Statistics. 

13 ‘‘(iii) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts col14 lected pursuant to clause (i) shall be de15 posited into the Treasury of the Common16 wealth Government for the sole and exclu17 sive purpose of funding vocational edu18 cation, apprenticeships, or other training 

19 programs for United States workers. 

20 ‘‘(iv) FRAUD PREVENTION AND DE21 TECTION FEE.—In addition to the fees de22 scribed in clause (i), the Secretary— 

23 ‘‘(I) shall impose, on each pro24 spective employer filing a petition 

25 under this subsection for one or more 


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1 nonimmigrant workers, a $50 fraud 

2 prevention and detection fee; and 

3 ‘‘(II) shall deposit and use the 

4 fees collected under subclause (I) for 

5 the sole purpose of preventing and de6 tecting immigration benefit fraud in 

7 the Northern Mariana Islands, in ac8 cordance with section 286(v)(2)(B) of 

9 the Immigration and Nationality Act 

10 (8 U.S.C. 1356(v)(2)(B)). 

11 ‘‘(B) PLAN FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF

12 FUNDS.—Not later than 120 days before the 

13 first day of fiscal year 2020, and annually 

14 thereafter, the Governor of the Commonwealth 

15 Government shall submit to the Secretary of 

16 Labor— 

17 ‘‘(i) a plan for the expenditures of 

18 amounts deposited under subparagraph 

19 (A)(iii); 

20 ‘‘(ii) a projection of the effectiveness 

21 of such expenditures in the placement of 

22 United States workers into jobs held by 

23 non-United States workers; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) a report on the changes in em25 ployment of United States workers attribVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Jun 29, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5956.RDS H5956

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1 utable to expenditures of such amounts 

2 during the previous year. 

3 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION AND REPORT.—Not 

4 later than 120 days after receiving each ex5 penditure plan under subparagraph (B)(i), the 

6 Secretary of Labor shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) issue a determination on the plan; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) submit a report to Congress that 

10 describes the effectiveness of the Common11 wealth Government at meeting the goals 

12 set forth in such plan. 

13 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT RESTRICTION.—Payments 

14 may not be made in a fiscal year from amounts 

15 deposited under subparagraph (A)(iii) before 

16 the Secretary of Labor has approved the ex17 penditure plan submitted under subparagraph 

18 (B)(i) for that fiscal year.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than December 1, 

22 2027, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 

23 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

24 Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen25 ate, the Committee on Natural Resources of the 


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1 House of Representatives, and the Committee on the 

2 Judiciary of the House of Representatives that— 

3 ‘‘(A) projects the number of asylum claims 

4 the Secretary anticipates following the termi5 nation of the transition period; and 

6 ‘‘(B) describes the efforts of the Secretary 

7 to ensure appropriate interdiction efforts, pro8 vide for appropriate treatment of asylum seek9 ers, and prepare to accept and adjudicate asy10 lum claims in the Commonwealth.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

13 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re14 spectively; 

15 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION FOR UNITED STATES WORK18 ERS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) TEMPORARY LABOR CERTIFI20 CATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with 

22 petitions filed with employment start dates 

23 in fiscal year 2020, a petition to import a 

24 nonimmigrant worker under this sub25 section may not be approved by the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:46 Jun 29, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5956.RDS H5956

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1 retary unless the petitioner has applied to 

2 the Secretary of Labor for a temporary 

3 labor certification confirming that— 

4 ‘‘(I) there are not sufficient 

5 United States workers in the Com6 monwealth who are able, willing, 

7 qualified, and available at the time 

8 and place needed to perform the serv9 ices or labor involved in the petition; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) employment of the non12 immigrant worker will not adversely 

13 affect the wages and working condi14 tions of similarly employed United 

15 States workers. 

16 ‘‘(ii) PETITION.—After receiving a 

17 temporary labor certification under clause 

18 (i), a prospective employer may submit a 

19 petition to the Secretary for a Common20 wealth Only Transitional Worker permit on 

21 behalf of the nonimmigrant worker. 

22 ‘‘(B) PREVAILING WAGE SURVEY.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In order to effec24 tuate the requirement for a temporary 

25 labor certification under subparagraph 


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1 (A)(i), the Secretary of Labor shall use, or 

2 make available to employers, an occupa3 tional wage survey conducted by the Gov4 ernor that the Secretary of Labor has de5 termined meets the statistical standards 

6 for determining prevailing wages in the 

7 Commonwealth on an annual basis. 

8 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR DE9 TERMINING THE PREVAILING WAGE.—In 

10 the absence of an occupational wage survey 

11 approved by the Secretary of Labor under 

12 clause (i), the prevailing wage for an occu13 pation in the Commonwealth shall be the 

14 arithmetic mean of the wages of workers 

15 similarly employed in the territory of 

16 Guam according to the wage component of 

17 the Occupational Employment Statistics 

18 Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor 

19 Statistics. 

20 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM WAGE.—An employer shall 

21 pay each Commonwealth Only Transitional 

22 Worker a wage that is not less than the greater 

23 of— 

24 ‘‘(i) the statutory minimum wage in 

25 the Commonwealth; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the Federal minimum wage; or 

2 ‘‘(iii) the prevailing wage in the Com3 monwealth for the occupation in which the 

4 worker is employed.’’; 

5 (C) by amending paragraph (3), as redes6 ignated, to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(3) PERMITS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

9 establish, administer, and enforce a system for 

10 allocating and determining terms and condi11 tions of permits to be issued to prospective em12 ployers for each nonimmigrant worker described 

13 in this subsection who would not otherwise be 

14 eligible for admission under the Immigration 

15 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 

16 ‘‘(B) NUMERICAL CAP.—The number of 

17 permits issued under subparagraph (A) may 

18 not exceed— 

19 ‘‘(i) 13,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

20 ‘‘(ii) 12,500 for fiscal year 2020; 

21 ‘‘(iii) 12,000 for fiscal year 2021; 

22 ‘‘(iv) 11,500 for fiscal year 2022; 

23 ‘‘(v) 11,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

24 ‘‘(vi) 10,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

25 ‘‘(vii) 9,000 for fiscal year 2025; 


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1 ‘‘(viii) 8,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

2 ‘‘(ix) 7,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

3 ‘‘(x) 6,000 for fiscal year 2028; 

4 ‘‘(xi) 5,000 for fiscal year 2029; and 

5 ‘‘(xii) 1,000 for the first quarter of 

6 fiscal year 2030. 

7 ‘‘(C) REPORTS REGARDING THE PERCENT8 AGE OF UNITED STATES WORKERS.— 

9 ‘‘(i) BY GOVERNOR.—Not later than 

10 60 days before the end of each calendar 

11 year, the Governor shall submit a report to 

12 the Secretary that identifies the ratio be13 tween United States workers and other 

14 workers in the Commonwealth’s workforce 

15 based on income tax filings with the Com16 monwealth for the tax year. 

17 ‘‘(ii) BY GAO.—Not later than Decem18 ber 31, 2019, and biennially thereafter, the 

19 Comptroller General of the United States 

20 shall submit a report to the Chair and 

21 Ranking Member of the Committee on En22 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate, 

23 the Chair and Ranking Member of the 

24 Committee on Natural Resources of the 

25 House of Representatives, the Chair and 


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1 Ranking Member of the Committee on 

2 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

3 the Senate and the Chair and Ranking 

4 Member of the Committee on Education 

5 and the Workforce of the House of Rep6 resentatives that identifies the ratio be7 tween United States workers and other 

8 workers in the Commonwealth’s workforce 

9 during each of the previous 5 calendar 

10 years. 

11 ‘‘(D) PETITION; ISSUANCE OF PERMITS.— 

12 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION.—A prospective em13 ployer may submit a petition for a permit 

14 under this paragraph not earlier than— 

15 ‘‘(I) 120 days before the date on 

16 which the prospective employer needs 

17 the beneficiary’s services; or 

18 ‘‘(II) if the petition is for the re19 newal of an existing permit, not ear20 lier than 180 days before the expira21 tion of such permit. 

22 ‘‘(ii) EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION.— 

23 The Secretary shall establish a system for 

24 each employer of a Commonwealth Only 

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1 annual report to the Secretary and the 

2 Secretary of Labor that provides evidence 

3 to verify the continuing employment and 

4 payment of such worker under the terms 

5 and conditions set forth in the permit peti6 tion that the employer filed on behalf of 

7 such worker. 

8 ‘‘(iii) REVOCATION.— 

9 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec10 retary, in the Secretary’s discretion, 

11 may revoke a permit approved under 

12 this paragraph for good cause, includ13 ing if— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the employer fails to 

15 maintain the continuous employ16 ment of the subject worker, fails 

17 to pay the subject worker, fails to 

18 timely file a semiannual report 

19 required under this paragraph, 

20 commits any other violation of 

21 the terms and conditions of em22 ployment, or otherwise ceases to 

23 operate as a legitimate business 

24 (as defined in clause (iv)(II)); 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the beneficiary of such 

2 petition does not apply for admis3 sion to the Commonwealth by the 

4 date that is 10 days after the pe5 riod of petition validity begins, if 

6 the employer has requested con7 sular processing; or 

8 ‘‘(cc) the employer fails to 

9 provide a former, current, or pro10 spective Commonwealth Only 

11 Transitional Worker, not later 

12 than 21 business days after re13 ceiving a written request from 

14 such worker, with the original (or 

15 a certified copy of the original) of 

16 all petitions, notices, and other 

17 written communication related to 

18 the worker (other than sensitive 

19 financial or proprietary informa20 tion of the employer, which may 

21 be redacted) that has been ex22 changed between the employer 

23 and the Department of Labor, 

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1 curity, or any other Federal 

2 agency or department. 

3 ‘‘(II) REALLOCATION OF RE4 VOKED PETITION.—Notwithstanding 

5 subparagraph (C), for each permit re6 voked under subclause (I) in a fiscal 

7 year, an additional permit shall be 

8 made available for use in the subse9 quent fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(iv) LEGITIMATE BUSINESS.— 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A permit 

12 may not be approved for a prospective 

13 employer that is not a legitimate busi14 ness. 

15 ‘‘(II) DEFINED TERM.—In this 

16 clause, the term ‘legitimate business’ 

17 means a real, active, and operating 

18 commercial or entrepreneurial under19 taking that the Secretary, in the Sec20 retary’s sole discretion, determines— 

21 ‘‘(aa) produces services or 

22 goods for profit, or is a govern23 mental, charitable, or other val24 idly recognized nonprofit entity; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) meets applicable legal 

2 requirements for doing business 

3 in the Commonwealth; 

4 ‘‘(cc) has substantially com5 plied with wage and hour laws, 

6 occupational safety and health 

7 requirements, and all other Fed8 eral, Commonwealth, and local 

9 requirements related to employ10 ment during the preceding 5 

11 years; 

12 ‘‘(dd) does not directly or in13 directly engage in, or knowingly 

14 benefit from, prostitution, human 

15 trafficking, or any other activity 

16 that is illegal under Federal, 

17 Commonwealth, or local law; 

18 ‘‘(ee) is a participant in 

19 good standing in the E-Verify 

20 program; 

21 ‘‘(ff) does not have, as an 

22 owner, investor, manager, oper23 ator, or person meaningfully in24 volved with the undertaking, any 

25 individual who has been the 


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1 owner, investor, manager, oper2 ator, or otherwise meaningfully 

3 involved with an undertaking 

4 that does not comply with item 

5 (cc) or (dd), or is the agent of 

6 such an individual; and 

7 ‘‘(gg) is not a successor in 

8 interest to an undertaking that 

9 does not comply with item (cc) or 

10 (dd). 

11 ‘‘(v) CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS.— 

12 A permit for Construction and Extraction 

13 Occupations (as defined by the Depart14 ment of Labor as Standard Occupational 

15 Classification Group 47–0000) may not be 

16 issued for any worker other than a worker 

17 described in paragraph (7)(B).’’; 

18 (D) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by 

19 inserting ‘‘or to Guam for the purpose of tran20 sit only’’ after ‘‘except admission to the Com21 monwealth’’; 

22 (E) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by 

23 adding at the end the following: ‘‘Approval of a 

24 petition filed by the new employer with a start 

25 date within the same fiscal year as the current 


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1 permit shall not count against the numerical 

2 limitation for that period.’’; and 

3 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(7) REQUIREMENT TO REMAIN OUTSIDE OF

5 THE UNITED STATES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

7 subparagraph (B)— 

8 ‘‘(i) a permit for a Commonwealth 

9 Only Transitional Worker— 

10 ‘‘(I) shall remain valid for a pe11 riod that may not exceed 1 year; and 

12 ‘‘(II) may be renewed for not 

13 more than two consecutive, 1-year pe14 riods; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) at the expiration of the second 

16 renewal period, an alien may not again be 

17 eligible for such a permit until after the 

18 alien has remained outside of the United 

19 States for a continuous period of at least 

20 30 days prior to the submission of a re21 newal petition on their behalf. 

22 ‘‘(B) LONG-TERM WORKERS.—An alien 

23 who was admitted to the Commonwealth as a 

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1 quent fiscal year beginning before the date of 

2 the enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands 

3 U.S. Workforce Act of 2018, may receive a per4 mit for a Commonwealth Only Transitional 

5 Worker that is valid for a period that may not 

6 exceed 3 years and may be renewed for addi7 tional 3-year periods during the transition pe8 riod. A permit issued under this subparagraph 

9 shall be counted toward the numerical cap for 

10 each fiscal year within the period of petition va11 lidity.’’; and 

12 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) COMMONWEALTH.—The term ‘Common15 wealth’ means the Commonwealth of the Northern 

16 Mariana Islands. 

17 ‘‘(2) COMMONWEALTH ONLY TRANSITION

18 WORKER.—The term ‘Commonwealth Only Transi19 tion Worker’ means an alien who has been admitted 

20 into the Commonwealth under the transition pro21 gram and is eligible for a permit under subsection 

22 (d)(3). 

23 ‘‘(3) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘Governor’ means 

24 the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 

25 Mariana Islands. 


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1 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

2 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

3 ‘‘(5) TAX YEAR.—The term ‘tax year’ means 

4 the fiscal year immediately preceding the current fis5 cal year. 

6 ‘‘(6) UNITED STATES WORKER.—The term 

7 ‘United States worker’ means any worker who is— 

8 ‘‘(A) a citizen or national of the United 

9 States; 

10 ‘‘(B) an alien who has been lawfully admit11 ted for permanent residence; or 

12 ‘‘(C) a citizen of the Republic of the Mar13 shall Islands, the Federated States of Micro14 nesia, or the Republic of Palau (known collec15 tively as the ‘Freely Associated States’) who 

16 has been lawfully admitted to the United States 

17 pursuant to— 

18 ‘‘(i) section 141 of the Compact of 

19 Free Association between the Government 

20 of the United States and the Governments 

21 of the Marshall Islands and the Federated 

22 States of Micronesia (48 U.S.C. 1921 

23 note); or 

24 ‘‘(ii) section 141 of the Compact of 

25 Free Association between the United 


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1 States and the Government of Palau (48 

2 U.S.C. 1931 note).’’. 

3 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

4 (1) SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

5 Notwithstanding the requirements under section 

6 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary 

7 of Homeland Security shall publish in the Federal 

8 Register, not later than 180 days after the date of 

9 the enactment of this Act, an interim final rule that 

10 specifies how the Secretary intends to implement the 

11 amendments made by subsection (a) that relate to 

12 the responsibilities of the Secretary. 

13 (2) SECRETARY OF LABOR.—Notwithstanding 

14 the requirements under section 553(b) of title 5, 

15 United States Code, the Secretary of Labor shall 

16 publish in the Federal Register, not later than 180 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, an 

18 interim final rule that specifies how the Secretary 

19 intends to implement the amendments made by sub20 section (a) that relate to the responsibilities of the 

21 Secretary. 

22 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE GOVERNOR.— 

23 In developing the interim final rules under para24 graphs (1) and (2), the Secretary of Homeland Se25 curity and the Secretary of Labor— 


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1 (A) shall each consider, in good faith, any 

2 written public recommendations regarding the 

3 implementation of this Act that are submitted 

4 by the Governor of the Commonwealth not later 

5 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 

6 this Act; and 

7 (B) may include provisions in such rule 

8 that are responsive to any recommendation of 

9 the Governor that is not inconsistent with this 

10 Act, including a recommendation to reserve a 

11 number of permits each year for occupational 

12 categories necessary to maintain public health 

13 or safety in the Commonwealth. 

14 (c) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TECHNICAL AS15 SISTANCE.—Not later than October 1, 2019, and bienni16 ally thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 

17 a report to Congress that describes the fulfillment of the 

18 Department of the Interior’s responsibilities to the Com19 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands— 

20 (1) to identify opportunities for economic 

21 growth and diversification; 

22 (2) to provide assistance in recruiting, training, 

23 and hiring United States workers; and 

24 (3) to provide such other technical assistance 

25 and consultation as outlined in section 702(e) of the 


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1 Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (48 

2 U.S.C. 1807). 

3 (d) OUTREACH AND TRAINING.—Not later than 120 

4 days after the date on which the Secretary of Labor pub5 lishes an interim final rule in the Federal Register in ac6 cordance with subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall con7 duct outreach and training in the Commonwealth of the 

8 Northern Mariana Islands for employers and workers on 

9 the foreign labor certification process set forth in section 

10 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘A Joint Resolution to 

11 approve the ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of 

12 the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the 

13 United States of America’, and for other purposes’’, as 

14 amended by subsection (b), including the minimum wage 

15 requirement set forth in subsection (d)(2)(C) of such sec16 tion. 

17 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically other19 wise provided, this Act and the amendments made 

20 by this Act— 

21 (A) shall take effect on the date of the en22 actment of this Act; and 

23 (B) shall apply to petitions for Common24 wealth Only Transitional Workers filed on or 

25 after such date. 


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1 (2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND

2 SECURITY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

3 the Secretary’s discretion, may delay the effective 

4 date of any provision of this Act relating to Com5 monwealth Only Transition Workers until the effec6 tive date of the interim final rule described in sub7 section (b), except for provisions providing annual 

8 numerical caps for such workers. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 5, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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