King-Hinds to push for new, improved CW-1 program
The CNMI’s delegate-elect Kimberlyn King-Hinds has big goals for the CNMI and one of them is possibly improving and establishing a new CNMI-Only Transitional Workers (CW-1) program that caters to the CNMI’s unique needs.
King-Hinds, who is currently in Washington, D.C. to learn the ropes of her new role as the CNMI’s champion in U.S. Congress, says one of her main goals in her tenure as delegate will be to establish a new and improved CW-1 visa program that actually suits the CNMI’s economic needs.
“I want a whole new program. If the fastest route to keep the program intact is by extending the program, then let’s do that but I think what we need to do is revamp it so that it is CNMI friendly. These processing times are taking too long, we need boots on the ground to be able to do the Temporary Labor Certifications and folks are not waiting. That’s just unacceptable,” she said.
King-Hinds emphasizes that new policy would have to take into account the CNMI’s economic situation.
“Whatever that policy is going to look like, it needs to consider the economic conditions, and that conversation needs to be had with our federal partners who agree that we do need to address this issue,” she said.
In addition, King-Hinds also believes that the CNMI Department of Labor should be empowered to process TLCs if that calls for faster processing of these CNMI-Only visas.
“I do believe that we need to empower our local Department of Labor, who works closely with the U.S. Department of Labor, to be able to do the processing here and that has to come with funding so that is something I definitely support and I hope to be able to check off my list,” she said.
Last month, Saipan Tribune reported that the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s workforce is facing a shortfall as a number of its CW-1 workers have been affected by delays in visa processing.
Previously, Saipan Tribune learned that about 17 CHCC personnel—specifically nurses—were affected by a delay in CW-1 processing due to denials of TLCs.
TLCs are certificates granted by the U.S. Department of Labor to essentially allow an employer to process CW-1 visas. To acquire a TLC, employers must first demonstrate that they have exhausted all efforts to hire local workers for specific job categories but are unable to hire enough local workers therefore they need foreign workers to fill in the gaps.
According to CHCC spokesperson Lee Tenorio, these CHCC staff have had to return to their home country until TLCs are approved by the U.S. Department of Labor.
“We regret that there were several staff with CW-1 visas affected by delayed processing. Unfortunately, this means staff would have to return back to their home country until processing is approved by the U.S. Department of Labor,” said Tenorio.
However, CHCC is committed to reinstating these staff members as soon as possible.
“The CHCC is committed to reassuring the CNMI and CHCC community that we aim to reinstate the affected staff as soon as they are legally permitted to do so, provided they are still willing to return,” he said.
In the meantime, CHCC is addressing the labor shortfall.
“In the meantime, the CHCC has implemented alternative staffing solutions to maintain the quality of patient care” he said.
In related news, private companies have also been facing similar hurdles with TLCs being denied left and right.
According to local manpower agencies, they have received endless calls from private companies like hotels, restaurants, construction companies, stores, and more asking for help with TLCs as they were not granted.
However, even local manpower agencies who are well versed in TLC applications have also been denied TLCs with U.S. Labor becoming more meticulous in terms of their approval process.
“We were denied three TLCs back-to-back which would’ve been used to petition over 30 construction workers,” said a local manpower agency representative.
According to her, their agency has been approached by over 50 people on top of employers asking if they have any TLCs available in order to maintain their CW-1 status.
“This is troubling because this just means a lot of foreign laborers will have to go home ASAP without security of when they will be able to return. This will also negatively impact local businesses as there will be a large shortfall in workers,” she said.
The CNMI-only transitional worker program, otherwise known as the CW-1 Program, will be terminated in December 2029, and the “Temporary Need Exemption” for certain H2B workers in Guam and the CNMI will also be terminated in December 2029.
The CW-1 Program has a cap of 13,000 workers—a cap that is reduced annually by 1,000 workers.
In fiscal year 2025, the CW1 cap shall be limited to 9,000 workers and does not authorize the hiring of construction and extraction occupations.
Currently, there are approximately 5,000 CW1 workers in the CNMI and the CNMI may need as many 15,000 foreign workers to meet the demands of the growing economy and the development of new industries.
Currently, Guam has over 5,500 H2B workers, but needs approximately 15,000 foreign workers or more to meet the demands of the local construction industry, tourism industry, the military buildup, and the development of new industries
Kimberlyn King-Hinds
