Comment Submitted by Maria Lourdes Berueco

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department of Homeland Security 111 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Suite 3008 Washington, DC 20528-2060 RE: Docket Number-USCIS-2008-0038 Thank you for the giving me again the chance to participate in this comment process for Transitional Workers Program for the CNMI in accordance to provisions of Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. Section concerning hiring abroad of workers: At present, according to the CNMI Department of Labor, there are about 13,000 guest workers here in CNMI and some CNMI Permit holders do not have job for quite some time now due to different reasons and circumstances. May I therefore suggest that bringing in more workers under CW-1 status abroad should be deleted in these regulations? And give second preference to foreign workers who are on-islands if no available U.S. citizens for job vacancy. By opening your door in hiring abroad, I can see more schemes and scams in bringing in new workers. Likewise, this maybe another way to squeeze money from foreign workers who want to work in U.S. soil and this would add up to human trafficking t cases in CNMI which some are not yet resolved. Also, this could give a sort of protection or security on the part of long term guest workers. Since the regulation states that the CNMI must not increase the total number of alien workers present in CNMI and should reduced the number of grants of CW-1 status. Petitioning Procedures-It would be easier and cheaper for the employer to petition more than one worker on the same form as long as employees are all working for the same period of time and in same location regardless of the occupational category as long as the employees to be petitioned are already in CNMI. With this, the employers could easily transfer all their employees that are ineligible under INA qualifications that are currently holding CNMI permits. And consequently will result in more orderly transition in phasing out the CNMI’s nonresident contract worker program. Lawful Presence and Travel-As the rule states: CW-1 or CW-2 nonimmigrant may leave the CNMI and return, BUT must have appropriate visa for readmission. The rule should allow holders of CW-1 and CW-2 to leave and re-enter CNMI without obtaining another visa from country of origin since these permits would be issued by Department of Homeland Security. Since the DHS allowed the foreign workers to work and stay in CNMI up to the validity of their permit, it should be therefore acceptable on your Department to use this permit to leave and re-enter CNMI. It is clearly stated in the permit issued by Division of Immigration, CNMI that this is an “ENTRY PERMIT”. I suggest that DHS could just give a sort of a visa waiver provided that any foreign workers who wish to travel with CNMI Entry Permit must notify 2 weeks in advance your office here in Saipan, CNMI about their travel and you could just require them to submit additional requirements like: CNMI Entry Permit that still valid for 90 days; valid passport; airline ticket to show itinerary and country where the foreign workers and his/her dependent will be travelling. If visa waiver became possible for Chinese and Russians nationals, how could it be impossible to give the same kind to aliens workers who came in legally and have worked and lived here some more than decades? For the above two paragraph, we appreciate a lot that your Department gave considerations already by allowing guest workers to continue what we have been doing before the enactment of CNRA, by providing temporary measures like “the advance parole” and “parole” to travel still from other foreign countries and to other parts of U.S. Thank you DHS! To reduce CW-1 permits holder yearly and to zero out the aliens workers by December 31, 2014, may I therefore recommend that an IMPROVED STATUS for long term guest workers, who became and still significant part of the CNMI economy and have been an important part of this community be recognized by giving them a more permanent status. If the DHS/USCIS was able to create a special visa like E-2 CNMI Only, CW-1 CNMI Only, and visa waiver for Chinese and Russians, I do believe you can also create another type of status not under INA, which maybe called PRC-CNMI Only. PRC-CNMI Only will stand for Permanent Resident Cardholder-CNMI only for a period of 3 years and after 3 years those that who have shown to be lawful and productive resident of CNMI may adjust his/her status to a U.S. citizen. Need a petitioner? Then let our U.S. citizen friends and relatives our own petitioner. The staff you sent here in CNMI to look after our situations is great; they are friendly, accommodating & knowledgeable. Now that they are here, I believe they can give your office accurate report on the situations we have here in CNMI. In closing, I would say that I still believe “that America is a land of good opportunities” and not losing hope that somehow, someday long term guest workers be recognized. Not by our professions but by the great contributions we have shared in CNMI. Sincerely yours, Maria Lourdes “Malou” H. Berueco CNMI Guest Worker