Title: Northern Mariana Islands Workforce Stabilization Act
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Northern Mariana Islands Workforce Stabilization Act
This bill establishes a process under which certain long-term residents of the Northern Mariana Islands who are workers or investors with specified temporary visas may obtain lawful permanent resident status.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6578 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6578

     To amend 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''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2018

  Mr. Sablan (for himself, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Correa, Mr. Sires, Ms. 
Eshoo, Ms. Hanabusa, Mrs. Napolitano, Mr. Gallego, Mrs. Watson Coleman, 
Ms. Meng, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Kihuen, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Takano, and Ms. 
   Lofgren) 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 amend 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''.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Mariana Islands Workforce 
Stabilization Act''.

SEC. 2. LONG-TERM LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN 
              MARIANA ISLANDS.

    Section 6(e) 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'', approved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 1806), is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6)  Special provision regarding long-term residents of 
        the commonwealth.--
                    ``(A) CNMI-only resident status.--Notwithstanding 
                paragraph (1), an alien described in subparagraph (B) 
                may, upon the application of the alien, be admitted as 
                an immigrant to the Commonwealth subject to the 
                following rules:
                            ``(i) The alien shall be treated as an 
                        immigrant lawfully admitted for permanent 
                        residence in the Commonwealth only, including 
                        permitting entry to and exit from the 
                        Commonwealth or to Guam for the purpose of 
                        transit only, until the earlier of the date on 
                        which--
                                    ``(I) the alien ceases to 
                                permanently reside in the Commonwealth; 
                                or
                                    ``(II) the alien's status is 
                                adjusted under this paragraph or 
                                section 245 of the Immigration and 
                                Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1255) to that 
                                of an alien lawfully admitted for 
                                permanent residence in accordance with 
                                all applicable eligibility 
                                requirements.
                            ``(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security 
                        shall establish a process for such aliens to 
                        apply for CNMI-only permanent resident status 
                        during the 180-day period beginning on the 
                        first day of the sixth month after the date of 
                        the enactment of this paragraph.
                            ``(iii) Nothing in this subparagraph may be 
                        construed to provide any alien granted status 
                        under this subparagraph with public assistance 
                        to which the alien is not otherwise entitled.
                    ``(B) Aliens described.--An alien is described in 
                this subparagraph if--
                            ``(i) the alien is lawfully present in the 
                        Commonwealth under the immigration laws of the 
                        United States;
                            ``(ii) the alien is otherwise admissible to 
                        the United States under the Immigration and 
                        Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.);
                            ``(iii) the alien is not a citizen of the 
                        Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated 
                        States of Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) the alien--
                                    ``(I) was admitted to the 
                                Commonwealth as a Commonwealth Only 
                                Transitional Worker during fiscal year 
                                2015, and during every subsequent 
                                fiscal year beginning before the date 
                                of the enactment of the Northern 
                                Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 
                                2018; or
                                    ``(II) resided in the Northern 
                                Mariana Islands as an investor under 
                                Commonwealth immigration law, and is 
                                presently resident under E-2 CNMI 
                                Investor Status (E2C).
                    ``(C) Adjustment for long-term residents.--
                Beginning on the date that is 5 years after the date of 
                the enactment of this paragraph, an alien described in 
                subparagraph (B) may apply to receive an immigrant visa 
                or to adjust his or her status to that of an alien 
                lawfully admitted for permanent residence.''.
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