The US president Donald Trump has signed into law a bill which would allow foreign workers in the Northern Marianas for another ten years.
The Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018 raises the number of transitional worker visas in the CNMI to 13,000 and extends the programme until 2029.
Photo: AFP PHOTO / Olivier Douliery
The new law also further strengthens local initiatives to develop the CNMI's US workforce.
The law fixes reductions made by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, which had implemented policies dating back to the Obama administration to reduce the number of workers up to 2019.
It also continues the bar on claims of asylum in the CNMI.
The new law also improves the status of workers who have been continuously employed in the Northern Marianas since 2015 by allowing their employers to apply for a three year visa.
The Imperial Pacific Resort under construction in CNMI. Photo: RNZI/Mark Rabago