Acting Chief, Business and Foreign Workers Division, Office of Policy and Strategy

1615-AC28 201810 The Regulatory Plan and the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions 1615 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS 1600 Department of Homeland Security DHS Implementation of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) plans to issue an interim final rule to implement the amendments of the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act of 2018, which the President signed on July 24, 2018. The stated purpose of the act is to increase the percentage of U.S. workers in the total workforce of the (CNMI), while maintaining the minimum number of non-U.S. workers to meet the demands of the CNMI economy; to encourage the hiring of U.S. workers into the CNMI workforce; and to ensure that no U.S. worker is at a competitive disadvantage compared to a non-U.S. worker or is displaced by a non-U.S. worker. The act extends the transition period until December 31, 2029, including the Guam and CNMI H cap exemptions and the bar related to filing asylum applications in the CNMI. It also provides additional criteria for CW beneficiaries and their employers.

]]> Other Significant First Time Published in The Unified Agenda Final Rule Stage Undetermined Undetermined Other 8 CFR 103.7 8 CFR 214.2(w) 8 CFR 214.2(e)(23)(ii)(F) 8 CFR 208.1(a)(2) 48 U.S.C.1806 H.R. 535 Statutory Other 07/24/2018 President signed the Northern Mariana Island U.S. Workforce Act of 2018, which requires that DHS promulgate implementing regulations by means of an interim final rule within 180 days. Publish an interim rule no later than 180 days after the enactment of the Bill. No Interim Final Rule 01/00/2019 Undetermined Undetermined No No www.regulations.gov www.regulations.gov No No Brian Hunt Acting Chief, Business and Foreign Workers Division, Office of Policy and Strategy 1615 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS 202 272-8377 202 272-1480 brian.j.hunt@uscis.dhs.gov 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Suite 1200, Washington DC 20529-2200