USCIS, EOIR Issue Interim Final Rule Implementing Extension of U.S. Immigration Laws to Northern Marianas

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Executive Office for Immigration Review issued an interim final rule effective November 28, 2009, implementing the extension of U.S. immigration laws to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 (CNRA). The rule amends the regulations governing, among other things, references to the geographical “United States” and its territories and possessions; classifications authorized for employment; acceptable documents for employment eligibility verification; employment of undocumented workers; and adjustment of status of immediate relatives admitted under the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program. The stated purpose of the rule is “to ensure that the regulations apply to persons and entities arriving in or physically present in the CNMI to the extent authorized by the CNRA.”

Additional References:

• USCIS has established a transitional worker program for foreign nationals to live and work in CNMI (PDF).
• Written comments should be submitted by November 27, 2009, according to the instructions in the interim rule, which was published in the Federal Register on October 28, 2009 (PDF)