New regs put workers’ qualifications under microscope

The Attorney General’s Office has adopted three new regulations aimed at preventing underage and under-qualified alien workers from entering the CNMI by fraud.

One of regulations requires that any nonresident worker employed in any establishment licensed to sell liquor be at least 21 years old.

This amendment to immigration regulations, according to the AGO, “is intended to ensure that no minors enter the Commonwealth to work in liquor establishments.”

Another regulation creates a “special circumstances work permit” that falls outside of the Nonresident Workers Act. “It is in the interests of the efficient administration of justice that the Attorney General be able to grant entry status under special circumstances and allow permit holders to perform labor or services,” the AGO said.

The agency, however, did not elaborate which individuals and under what sort of circumstances they could avail of this permit.

Lastly, the AGO adopted a new regulation giving the attorney general the discretion to require nonresident workers from the Philippines to submit an overseas employment certificate with their employment application.

The certificate is an official document issued by the Philippine government to workers applying for employment abroad.

“The Attorney General finds that, in the case of Filipino workers, this certificate can be the best evidence of the worker’s identity, employment eligibility, and job category. It is therefore imperative that the Attorney General and the Division of Immigration be able to request an OEC during the permitting process,” the AGO said.

The amendments to the CNMI Immigration Regulations were adopted on an emergency basis—or without the usual 30-day advance notice. They will remain effective for 120 days and would become permanent after they are re-published on the Commonwealth Register and have undergone a minimum 30-day comment period.

“These changes are necessary to address the ongoing problem of underage and under-qualified workers entering the CNMI by fraud or misrepresentation and then becoming a burden on the government of the Commonwealth,” said the AGO. “It is the intent of the emergency amendments to give the Office of the Attorney General and the Division of Immigration a better ability to identify and reject applications that are not in the best interests of the Commonwealth.”