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Labor collects $3.3M in application fees
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Posted on Jun 19 2005
The $50-raise in the nonresident worker application fee is proving to be a lucrative source of income for the government.
The Department of Labor said it generated $3.32 million in application fees from January to May 2005, an increase of 12.64 percent or $372,680 from the same period in 2004.
According to a report by acting Labor Secretary Dean Tenorio, the department made the biggest collection in January, with application fees amounting to $776,550.
Labor generated $624,405 from application fees in February; $653,735 in March; $675,220 in April; and $590,115 in May.
Revenues from these application fees are remitted to the Department of Finance.
The increased collections can be attributed to the $50-hike made last year on the nonresident worker application fee.
Employers used to pay $225 annually for the registration of each nonresident worker in the CNMI. The application fee consisted of a $175 alien labor permit fee, a $25 entry permit fee, and a $25 alien deportation fee.
However, pursuant to the Aug. 6, 2004 implementation of the amended Alien Labor Rules and Regulations, the fee for a nonresident worker application was raised to $275 annually.
Labor also collects a fee of $10 a month from each nonresident worker wishing to extend his or her permit for a period less than 90 days of the original expiration.
In his report, Tenorio also said the Division of Labor is now “consistently processing applications within the required 30 days.”
“For applications that are submitted within deficiencies, the division is able to issue the approval on the next working day. Deficient applications that are corrected later are normally cleared within five days, depending on the volume of deficient applications being cleared during that period,” Tenorio said.
The Labor Department is also expecting the efficiency of the agency’s processing section to improve with the automation of the nonresident worker application processing. The program is in the final stages and is targeted for initial implementation next month, Tenorio said.
