year, an additional permit shall be 
made available for use in the subse-
quent fiscal year. 
‘‘(iv) LEGITIMATE BUSINESS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—A permit 
may not be approved for a prospective 
employer that is not a legitimate busi-
ness. 
‘‘(II) DEFINED
TERM.—In this 
clause, the term ‘legitimate business’ 
means a real, active, and operating 
commercial or entrepreneurial under-
taking that the Secretary, in the Sec-
retary’s sole discretion, determines— 
‘‘(aa) produces services or 
goods for profit, or is a govern-
mental, charitable, or other val-
idly recognized nonprofit entity; 
‘‘(bb) meets applicable legal 
requirements for doing business 
in the Commonwealth; 
‘‘(cc) has substantially com-
plied with wage and hour laws, 
occupational safety and health 
requirements, and all other Fed-
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eral, Commonwealth, and local 
requirements related to employ-
ment during the preceding 5 
years; 
‘‘(dd) does not directly or in-
directly engage in, or knowingly 
benefit from, prostitution, human 
trafficking, or any other activity 
that is illegal under Federal, 
Commonwealth, or local law; and 
‘‘(ee) is a participant in 
good standing in the E-Verify 
program; 
‘‘(ff) does not have, as an 
owner, investor, manager, oper-
ator, or person meaningfully in-
volved with the undertaking, any 
individual who has been the 
owner, investor, manager, oper-
ator, or otherwise meaningfully 
involved with an undertaking 
that does not comply with item 
(cc) or (dd), or is the agent of 
such an individual; and 
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‘‘(gg) is not a successor in 
interest to an undertaking that 
does not comply with item (cc) or 
(dd). 
‘‘(v) CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS.— 
A permit for Construction and Extraction 
Occupations (as defined by the Depart-
ment of Labor as Standard Occupational 
Classification Group 47–0000) may not be 
issued for any worker other than a worker 
described in paragraph (7)(B).’’; 
(D) in paragraph (4), as redesignated, by 
inserting ‘‘or to Guam for the purpose of tran-
sit only’’ after ‘‘except admission to the Com-
monwealth’’; 
(E) in paragraph (5), as redesignated, by 
adding at the end the following: ‘‘Approval of a 
petition filed by the new employer with a start 
date within the same fiscal year as the current 
permit shall not count against the numerical 
limitation for that period.’’; and 
(F) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) REQUIREMENT TO REMAIN OUTSIDE OF 
THE UNITED STATES.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 
subparagraph (B)— 
‘‘(i) a permit for a Commonwealth 
Only Transitional Worker— 
‘‘(I) shall remain valid for a pe-
riod that may not exceed 1 year; and 
‘‘(II) may be renewed for not 
more than 2 consecutive, 1-year peri-
ods; and 
‘‘(ii) at the expiration of the second 
renewal period, an alien may not again be 
eligible for such a permit until after the 
alien has remained outside of the United 
States for a continuous period of at least 
30 days prior to the submission of a re-
newal petition on their behalf. 
‘‘(B) LONG-TERM
WORKERS.—An alien 
who was admitted to the Commonwealth as a 
Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker dur-
ing fiscal year 2015, and during every subse-
quent fiscal year beginning before the date of 
the enactment of the Northern Mariana Islands 
U.S. Workforce Act of 2018, may receive a per-
mit for a Commonwealth Only Transitional 
Worker that is valid for a period that may not 
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exceed 3 years and may be renewed for addi-
tional 3-year periods during the transition pe-
riod. A permit issued under this subparagraph 
shall be counted toward the numerical cap for 
each fiscal year within the period of petition va-
lidity.’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) COMMONWEALTH.—The term ‘Common-
wealth’ means the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands. 
‘‘(2) 
COMMONWEALTH
ONLY
TRANSITION 
WORKER.—The term ‘Commonwealth Only Transi-
tion Worker’ means an alien who has been admitted 
into the Commonwealth under the transition pro-
gram and is eligible for a permit under subsection 
(d)(3). 
‘‘(3) GOVERNOR.—The term ‘Governor’ means 
the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands. 
‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of Homeland Security. 
‘‘(5) TAX YEAR.—The term ‘tax year’ means 
the fiscal year immediately preceding the current fis-
cal year. 
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‘‘(6) UNITED
STATES
WORKER.—The term 
‘United States worker’ means any worker who is— 
‘‘(A) a citizen or national of the United 
States; 
‘‘(B) an alien who has been lawfully admit-
ted for permanent residence; or 
‘‘(C) a citizen of the Republic of the Mar-
shall Islands, the Federated States of Micro-
nesia, or the Republic of Palau (known collec-
tively as the ‘Freely Associated States’) who 
has been lawfully admitted to the United States 
pursuant to— 
‘‘(i) section 141 of the Compact of 
Free Association between the Government 
of the United States and the Governments 
of the Marshall Islands and the Federated 
States of Micronesia (48 U.S.C. 1921 
note); or 
‘‘(ii) section 141 of the Compact of 
Free Association between the United 
States and the Government of Palau (48 
U.S.C. 1931 note).’’. 
(b) RULEMAKING.— 
(1) SECRETARY
OF
HOMELAND
SECURITY.— 
Notwithstanding the requirements under section 
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553(b) of title 5, United States Code, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall publish in the Federal 
Register, not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, an interim final rule that 
specifies how the Secretary intends to implement the 
amendments made by subsection (a) that relate to 
the responsibilities of the Secretary. 
(2) SECRETARY
OF
LABOR.—Notwithstanding 
the requirements under section 553(b) of title 5, 
United States Code, the Secretary of Labor shall 
publish in the Federal Register, not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, an 
interim final rule that specifies how the Secretary 
intends to implement the amendments made by sub-
section (a) that relate to the responsibilities of the 
Secretary. 
(3) RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE GOVERNOR.— 
In developing the interim final rules under para-
graphs (1) and (2), the Secretary of Homeland Se-
curity and the Secretary of Labor— 
(A) shall each consider, in good faith, any 
written public recommendations regarding the 
implementation of this Act that are submitted 
by the Governor of the Commonwealth not later 
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than 60 days after the date of the enactment of 
this Act; and 
(B) may include provisions in such rule 
that are responsive to any recommendation of 
the Governor that is not inconsistent with this 
Act, including a recommendation to reserve a 
number of permits each year for occupational 
categories necessary to maintain public health 
or safety in the Commonwealth. 
(c) DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR TECHNICAL AS-
SISTANCE.—Not later than October 1, 2019, and bienni-
ally thereafter, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit 
a report to Congress that describes the fulfillment of the 
Department of the Interior’s responsibilities to the Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands— 
(1) to identify opportunities for economic 
growth and diversification; 
(2) to provide assistance in recruiting, training, 
and hiring United States workers; and 
(3) to provide such other technical assistance 
and consultation as outlined in section 702(e) of the 
Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (48 
U.S.C. 1807). 
(d) OUTREACH AND TRAINING.—Not later than 120 
days after the date on which the Secretary of Labor pub-
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lishes an interim final rule in the Federal Register in ac-
cordance with subsection (b)(2), the Secretary shall con-
duct outreach and training in the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands for employers and workers on 
the foreign labor certification process set forth in section 
6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ‘‘A Joint Resolution to 
approve the ‘Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with the 
United States of America’, and for other purposes’’, as 
amended by subsection (b), including the minimum wage 
requirement set forth in subsection (d)(2)(C) of such sec-
tion. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as specifically other-
wise provided, this Act and the amendments made 
by this Act— 
(A) shall take effect on the date of the en-
actment of this Act; and 
(B) shall apply to petitions for Common-
wealth Only Transitional Workers filed on or 
after such date. 
(2) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF HOMELAND 
SECURITY.—The Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
the Secretary’s discretion, may delay the effective 
date of any provision of this Act relating to Com-
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monwealth Only Transition Workers until the effec-
tive date of the interim final rule described in sub-
section (b), except for provisions providing annual 
numerical caps for such workers. 
Æ 
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