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

1615-AC28 202310 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

On May 14, 2020, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued 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 purpose of the Act is to increase the percentage of U.S. workers in the total workforce of the Consolidated Northern Mariana Islands (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 CNMI Only Transitional Worker (CW) beneficiaries and their employers. The interim final rule went into effect on June 18, 2020. DHS is reviewing public comments submitted on the interim final rule in preparation for issuing a final rule.

]]> Other Significant Previously Published in The Unified Agenda Long-Term Actions No No 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 05/14/2020 85 FR 29264 Interim Final Rule Effective 06/18/2020 Interim Final Rule Comment Period End 07/13/2020 Final Action To Be Determined No None No No https://www.regulations.gov https://www.regulations.gov No No 1125-AA95 Related to 1100 Department of Justice DOJ Common Paul Buono Chief, Business and Foreign Workers Division, Office of Policy and Strategy 1615 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services USCIS 240 721-3000 5900 Capital Gateway Drive, Suite 4S190, Camp Springs MD 20588-0009