80% processing of CW petitions, touchback completed in 1 month
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) disclosed over the weekend that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ processing times for I-129 CW CNMI-Only Nonimmigrant Transitional Worker petitions, including for CW workers touching back in their home countries after three years in the Marianas, were mostly completed within just a month.
Sablan said in his e-kilili newsletter that, according to USCIS, most I-129CW petitions usually took three to five months to process, but the process has speeded up since the start of fiscal year 2024 on Oct. 1, 2023, when 80% of petitions were completed within one month.
The touchback rule—a requirement of the 2018 Northern Marianas U.S. Workforce Act that required foreign workers to return to their home countries before their third consecutive work visa petition is processed—began to kick in for most workers last year and there were concerns it may cause a hardship on employers and workers. But Sablan said that has not happened, with majority of touchback visas being processed rapidly.
The delegate said USCIS’ processing times can be monitored online at https: //egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/.
Sablan said a goal of the Northern Marianas Workforce Act was to bring more U.S. workers into the Marianas labor force and that number was increased by 2,285 since 2018.
At the same time, he said, employers continued to have access to CW workers. The cap on CW visas in 2023 was 11,000. USCIS issued 5,789 CW visas for that year.
The Palacios-Apatang administration had asked U.S. Congress and U.S. Homeland Security to repeal or delay the implementation of the touchback provision, which took effect for most workers in September 2023. Since then, it is now the rule for CNMI employers to send their CW-visa holders back to their home countries at least every three years.
Palacios repeatedly stated in previous statements that the touchback provision will adversely impact many businesses in the CNMI when implemented.
Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan
