I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5956 

To incentivize the hiring of United States workers in the Commonwealth 

of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 24, 2018 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah (for himself and Mr. SABLAN) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern Mariana Is5 lands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to increase the percentage of United States 

9 workers (as defined in section 6(i) of the Joint Reso10 lution entitled ‘‘A Joint Resolution to approve the 


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1 ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the 

2 Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with 

3 the United States of America’, and for other pur4 poses’’ (48 U.S.C. 1806)) in the total workforce of 

5 the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is6 lands, while maintaining the minimum number of 

7 workers who are not United States workers to meet 

8 the changing demands of the Northern Mariana Is9 lands’ economy; 

10 (2) to encourage the hiring of United States 

11 workers into such workforce; and 

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

13 (A) is at a competitive disadvantage for 

14 employment compared to a worker who is not 

15 a United States worker; or 

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

17 United States worker. 

18 SEC. 3. TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS. 

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

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

21 Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is22 lands in Political Union with the United States of Amer23 ica’, and for other purposes’’ (48 U.S.C. 1806) is amend24 ed— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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

2 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

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

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘(6) FEES FOR TRAINING UNITED STATES

6 WORKERS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) SUPPLEMENTAL FEE.— 

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

9 imposed pursuant to section 286(m) of the 

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

11 1356(m)) to recover the full costs of adju12 dication services, the Secretary shall im13 pose an annual supplemental fee of $200 

14 per nonimmigrant worker on each prospec15 tive employer who is issued a permit under 

16 subsection (d)(3) during the transition pro17 gram. A prospective employer that is 

18 issued a permit with a validity period of 

19 longer than 1 year shall pay the fee for 

20 each year of requested validity at the time 

21 the permit is requested. 

22 ‘‘(ii) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—Be23 ginning in fiscal year 2020, the Secretary, 

24 through notice in the Federal Register, 

25 may annually adjust the supplemental fee 


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1 imposed under clause (i) by a percentage 

2 equal to the annual change in the Con3 sumer Price Index for All Urban Con4 sumers published by the Bureau of Labor 

5 Statistics. 

6 ‘‘(iii) USE OF FUNDS.—Amounts col7 lected pursuant to clause (i) shall be de8 posited into the Treasury of the Common9 wealth Government for the sole and exclu10 sive purpose of funding vocational edu11 cation, apprenticeships, or other training 

12 programs for United States workers. 

13 ‘‘(iv) FRAUD PREVENTION AND DE14 TECTION FEE.—In addition to the fees de15 scribed in clause (i), the Secretary— 

16 ‘‘(I) shall impose, on each pro17 spective employer filing a petition 

18 under this subsection for 1 or more 

19 nonimmigrant workers, a $50 fraud 

20 prevention and detection fee; and 

21 ‘‘(II) shall deposit and use the 

22 fees collected under subclause (I) for 

23 the sole purpose of preventing and de24 tecting immigration benefit fraud in 

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1 cordance with section 286(v)(2)(B) of 

2 the Immigration and Nationality Act 

3 (8 U.S.C. 1356(v)(2)(B)). 

4 ‘‘(B) PLAN FOR THE EXPENDITURE OF

5 FUNDS.—Not later than 120 days before the 

6 first day of fiscal year 2020, and annually 

7 thereafter, the Governor of the Commonwealth 

8 Government shall submit to the Secretary of 

9 Labor— 

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

11 amounts deposited under subparagraph 

12 (A)(iii); 

13 ‘‘(ii) a projection of the effectiveness 

14 of such expenditures in the placement of 

15 United States workers into jobs held by 

16 non-United States workers; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) a report on the changes in em18 ployment of United States workers attrib19 utable to expenditures of such amounts 

20 during the previous year. 

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

22 later than 120 days after receiving each ex23 penditure plan under subparagraph (B)(i), the 

24 Secretary of Labor shall— 


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

2 and 

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

4 describes the effectiveness of the Common5 wealth Government at meeting the goals 

6 set forth in such plan. 

7 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT RESTRICTION.—Payments 

8 may not be made in a fiscal year from amounts 

9 deposited under subparagraph (A)(iii) before 

10 the Secretary of Labor has approved the ex11 penditure plan submitted under subparagraph 

12 (B)(i) for that fiscal year.’’; 

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

14 following: 

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

16 2027, the Secretary shall submit a report to the 

17 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

18 Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of the Sen19 ate, the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

20 House of Representatives, and the Committee on the 

21 Judiciary of the House of Representatives that— 

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

23 the Secretary anticipates following the termi24 nation of the transition period; and 


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

2 to ensure appropriate interdiction efforts, pro3 vide for appropriate treatment of asylum seek4 ers, and prepare to accept and adjudicate asy5 lum claims in the Commonwealth.’’; 

6 (3) in subsection (d)— 

7 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

8 through (5) as paragraphs (3) through (6), re9 spectively; 

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

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(2) PROTECTION FOR UNITED STATES WORK13 ERS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) TEMPORARY LABOR CERTIFI15 CATION.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with 

17 petitions filed with employment start dates 

18 in fiscal year 2020, a petition to import a 

19 nonimmigrant worker under this sub20 section may not be approved by the Sec21 retary unless the petitioner has applied to 

22 the Secretary of Labor for a temporary 

23 labor certification confirming that— 

24 ‘‘(I) there are not sufficient 

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1 monwealth who are able, willing, 

2 qualified, and available at the time 

3 and place needed to perform the serv4 ices or labor involved in the petition; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(II) employment of the non7 immigrant worker will not adversely 

8 affect the wages and working condi9 tions of similarly employed United 

10 States workers. 

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

12 temporary labor certification under clause 

13 (i), a prospective employer may submit a 

14 petition to the Secretary for a Common15 wealth Only Transitional Worker permit on 

16 behalf of the nonimmigrant worker. 

17 ‘‘(B) PREVAILING WAGE SURVEY.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In order to effec19 tuate the requirement for a temporary 

20 labor certification under subparagraph 

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

22 make available to employers, an occupa23 tional wage survey conducted by the Gov24 ernor that the Secretary of Labor has de25 termined meets the statistical standards 


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1 for determining prevailing wages in the 

2 Commonwealth on an annual basis. 

3 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE METHOD FOR DE4 TERMINING THE PREVAILING WAGE.—In 

5 the absence of an occupational wage survey 

6 approved by the Secretary of Labor under 

7 clause (i), the prevailing wage for an occu8 pation in the Commonwealth shall be the 

9 arithmetic mean of the wages of workers 

10 similarly employed in the territory of 

11 Guam according to the wage component of 

12 the Occupational Employment Statistics 

13 Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor 

14 Statistics. 

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

16 pay each Commonwealth Only Transitional 

17 Worker a wage that is not less than the greater 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(i) the statutory minimum wage in 

20 the Commonwealth; 

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

22 ‘‘(iii) the prevailing wage in the Com23 monwealth for the occupation in which the 

24 worker is employed.’’; 


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1 (C) by amending paragraph (3), as redes2 ignated, to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(3) PERMITS.— 

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

5 establish, administer, and enforce a system for 

6 allocating and determining terms and condi7 tions of permits to be issued to prospective em8 ployers for each nonimmigrant worker described 

9 in this subsection who would not otherwise be 

10 eligible for admission under the Immigration 

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

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

13 permits issued under subparagraph (A) may 

14 not exceed— 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23 ‘‘(ix) 7,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

24 ‘‘(x) 6,000 for fiscal year 2028; 

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


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

2 fiscal year 2030. 

3 ‘‘(C) REPORTS REGARDING THE PERCENT4 AGE OF UNITED STATES WORKERS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) BY GOVERNOR.—Not later than 

6 60 days before the end of each calendar 

7 year, the Governor shall submit a report to 

8 the Secretary that identifies the ratio be9 tween United States workers and other 

10 workers in the Commonwealth’s workforce 

11 based on income tax filings with the Com12 monwealth for the tax year. 

13 ‘‘(ii) BY GAO.—Not later than Decem14 ber 31, 2019, and biennially thereafter, the 

15 Comptroller General of the United States 

16 shall submit a report to the Chair and 

17 Ranking Member of the Committee on En18 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate, 

19 the Chair and Ranking Member of the 

20 Committee on Natural Resources of the 

21 House of Representatives, the Chair and 

22 Ranking Member of the Committee on 

23 Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of 

24 the Senate and the Chair and Ranking 

25 Member of the Committee on Education 


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1 and the Workforce of the House of Rep2 resentatives that identifies the ratio be3 tween United States workers and other 

4 workers in the Commonwealth’s workforce 

5 during each of the previous 5 calendar 

6 years. 

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

8 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION.—A prospective em9 ployer may submit a petition for a permit 

10 under this paragraph not earlier than— 

11 ‘‘(I) 120 days before the date on 

12 which the prospective employer needs 

13 the beneficiary’s services; or 

14 ‘‘(II) if the petition is for the re15 newal of an existing permit, not ear16 lier than 180 days before the expira17 tion of such permit. 

18 ‘‘(ii) EMPLOYMENT VERIFICATION.— 

19 The Secretary shall establish a system for 

20 each employer of a Commonwealth Only 

21 Transitional Worker to submit a semi22 annual report to the Secretary and the 

23 Secretary of Labor that provides evidence 

24 to verify the continuing employment and 

25 payment of such worker under the terms 


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1 and conditions set forth in the permit peti2 tion that the employer filed on behalf of 

3 such worker. 

4 ‘‘(iii) REVOCATION.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec6 retary, in the Secretary’s discretion, 

7 may revoke a permit approved under 

8 this paragraph for good cause, includ9 ing if— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the employer fails to 

11 maintain the continuous employ12 ment of the subject worker, fails 

13 to pay the subject worker, fails to 

14 timely file a semiannual report 

15 required under this paragraph, 

16 commits any other violation of 

17 the terms and conditions of em18 ployment, or otherwise ceases to 

19 operate as a legitimate business 

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

21 ‘‘(bb) the beneficiary of such 

22 petition does not apply for admis23 sion to the Commonwealth by the 

24 date that is 10 days after the pe25 riod of petition validity begins, if 


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1 the employer has requested con2 sular processing; or 

3 ‘‘(cc) the employer fails to 

4 provide a former, current, or pro5 spective Commonwealth Only 

6 Transitional Worker, not later 

7 than 21 business days after re8 ceiving a written request from 

9 such worker, with the original (or 

10 a certified copy of the original) of 

11 all petitions, notices, and other 

12 written communication related to 

13 the worker (other than sensitive 

14 financial or proprietary informa15 tion of the employer, which may 

16 be redacted) that has been ex17 changed between the employer 

18 and the Department of Labor, 

19 the Department of Homeland Se20 curity, or any other Federal 

21 agency or department. 

22 ‘‘(II) REALLOCATION OF RE23 VOKED PETITION.—Notwithstanding 

24 subparagraph (C), for each permit re25 voked under subclause (I) in a fiscal 


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1 year, an additional permit shall be 

2 made available for use in the subse3 quent fiscal year. 

4 ‘‘(iv) LEGITIMATE BUSINESS.— 

5 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—A permit 

6 may not be approved for a prospective 

7 employer that is not a legitimate busi8 ness. 

9 ‘‘(II) DEFINED TERM.—In this 

10 clause, the term ‘legitimate business’ 

11 means a real, active, and operating 

12 commercial or entrepreneurial under13 taking that the Secretary, in the Sec14 retary’s sole discretion, determines— 

15 ‘‘(aa) produces services or 

16 goods for profit, or is a govern17 mental, charitable, or other val18 idly recognized nonprofit entity; 

19 ‘‘(bb) meets applicable legal 

20 requirements for doing business 

21 in the Commonwealth; 

22 ‘‘(cc) has substantially com23 plied with wage and hour laws, 

24 occupational safety and health 

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1 eral, Commonwealth, and local 

2 requirements related to employ3 ment during the preceding 5 

4 years; 

5 ‘‘(dd) does not directly or in6 directly engage in, or knowingly 

7 benefit from, prostitution, human 

8 trafficking, or any other activity 

9 that is illegal under Federal, 

10 Commonwealth, or local law; and 

11 ‘‘(ee) is a participant in 

12 good standing in the E-Verify 

13 program; 

14 ‘‘(ff) does not have, as an 

15 owner, investor, manager, oper16 ator, or person meaningfully in17 volved with the undertaking, any 

18 individual who has been the 

19 owner, investor, manager, oper20 ator, or otherwise meaningfully 

21 involved with an undertaking 

22 that does not comply with item 

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

24 such an individual; and 


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1 ‘‘(gg) is not a successor in 

2 interest to an undertaking that 

3 does not comply with item (cc) or 

4 (dd). 

5 ‘‘(v) CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS.— 

6 A permit for Construction and Extraction 

7 Occupations (as defined by the Depart8 ment of Labor as Standard Occupational 

9 Classification Group 47–0000) may not be 

10 issued for any worker other than a worker 

11 described in paragraph (7)(B).’’; 

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

13 inserting ‘‘or to Guam for the purpose of tran14 sit only’’ after ‘‘except admission to the Com15 monwealth’’; 

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

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

18 petition filed by the new employer with a start 

19 date within the same fiscal year as the current 

20 permit shall not count against the numerical 

21 limitation for that period.’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(7) REQUIREMENT TO REMAIN OUTSIDE OF

24 THE UNITED STATES.— 


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

2 subparagraph (B)— 

3 ‘‘(i) a permit for a Commonwealth 

4 Only Transitional Worker— 

5 ‘‘(I) shall remain valid for a pe6 riod that may not exceed 1 year; and 

7 ‘‘(II) may be renewed for not 

8 more than 2 consecutive, 1-year peri9 ods; and 

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

11 renewal period, an alien may not again be 

12 eligible for such a permit until after the 

13 alien has remained outside of the United 

14 States for a continuous period of at least 

15 30 days prior to the submission of a re16 newal petition on their behalf. 

17 ‘‘(B) LONG-TERM WORKERS.—An alien 

18 who was admitted to the Commonwealth as a 

19 Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker dur20 ing fiscal year 2015, and during every subse21 quent fiscal year beginning before the date of 

22 the enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands 

23 U.S. Workforce Act of 2018, may receive a per24 mit for a Commonwealth Only Transitional 

25 Worker that is valid for a period that may not 


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1 exceed 3 years and may be renewed for addi2 tional 3-year periods during the transition pe3 riod. A permit issued under this subparagraph 

4 shall be counted toward the numerical cap for 

5 each fiscal year within the period of petition va6 lidity.’’; and 

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

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

9 ‘‘(1) COMMONWEALTH.—The term ‘Common10 wealth’ means the Commonwealth of the Northern 

11 Mariana Islands. 

12 ‘‘(2) COMMONWEALTH ONLY TRANSITION

13 WORKER.—The term ‘Commonwealth Only Transi14 tion Worker’ means an alien who has been admitted 

15 into the Commonwealth under the transition pro16 gram and is eligible for a permit under subsection 

17 (d)(3). 

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

19 the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 

20 Mariana Islands. 

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

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security. 

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

24 the fiscal year immediately preceding the current fis25 cal year. 


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

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

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

4 States; 

5 ‘‘(B) an alien who has been lawfully admit6 ted for permanent residence; or 

7 ‘‘(C) a citizen of the Republic of the Mar8 shall Islands, the Federated States of Micro9 nesia, or the Republic of Palau (known collec10 tively as the ‘Freely Associated States’) who 

11 has been lawfully admitted to the United States 

12 pursuant to— 

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

14 Free Association between the Government 

15 of the United States and the Governments 

16 of the Marshall Islands and the Federated 

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

18 note); or 

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

20 Free Association between the United 

21 States and the Government of Palau (48 

22 U.S.C. 1931 note).’’. 

23 (b) RULEMAKING.— 

24 (1) SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.— 

25 Notwithstanding the requirements under section 


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1 553(b) of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary 

2 of Homeland Security shall publish in the Federal 

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

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

5 specifies how the Secretary intends to implement the 

6 amendments made by subsection (a) that relate to 

7 the responsibilities of the Secretary. 

8 (2) SECRETARY OF LABOR.—Notwithstanding 

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

10 United States Code, the Secretary of Labor shall 

11 publish in the Federal Register, not later than 180 

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

13 interim final rule that specifies how the Secretary 

14 intends to implement the amendments made by sub15 section (a) that relate to the responsibilities of the 

16 Secretary. 

17 (3) RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE GOVERNOR.— 

18 In developing the interim final rules under para19 graphs (1) and (2), the Secretary of Homeland Se20 curity and the Secretary of Labor— 

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

22 written public recommendations regarding the 

23 implementation of this Act that are submitted 

24 by the Governor of the Commonwealth not later 


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1 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act; and 

3 (B) may include provisions in such rule 

4 that are responsive to any recommendation of 

5 the Governor that is not inconsistent with this 

6 Act, including a recommendation to reserve a 

7 number of permits each year for occupational 

8 categories necessary to maintain public health 

9 or safety in the Commonwealth. 

10 (c) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TECHNICAL AS11 SISTANCE.—Not later than October 1, 2019, and bienni12 ally thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 

13 a report to Congress that describes the fulfillment of the 

14 Department of the Interior’s responsibilities to the Com15 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands— 

16 (1) to identify opportunities for economic 

17 growth and diversification; 

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

19 and hiring United States workers; and 

20 (3) to provide such other technical assistance 

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

22 Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (48 

23 U.S.C. 1807). 

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

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1 lishes an interim final rule in the Federal Register in ac2 cordance with subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall con3 duct outreach and training in the Commonwealth of the 

4 Northern Mariana Islands for employers and workers on 

5 the foreign labor certification process set forth in section 

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

7 approve the ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of 

8 the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the 

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

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

11 requirement set forth in subsection (d)(2)(C) of such sec12 tion. 

13 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically other15 wise provided, this Act and the amendments made 

16 by this Act— 

17 (A) shall take effect on the date of the en18 actment of this Act; and 

19 (B) shall apply to petitions for Common20 wealth Only Transitional Workers filed on or 

21 after such date. 

22 (2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND

23 SECURITY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 

24 the Secretary’s discretion, may delay the effective 

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1 monwealth Only Transition Workers until the effec2 tive date of the interim final rule described in sub3 section (b), except for provisions providing annual 

4 numerical caps for such workers. 

Æ 


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