Senate to DHS: Allow CNMI to keep its foreign investor visa program

The CNMI Senate, in a unanimous vote on Friday, adopted a resolution urging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow the CNMI to keep its foreign investor visa program as the federal government moves closer to taking control of the local immigration system.

The resolution, previously approved by the House of Representatives, comes amid fears that many of the foreign investors now in the CNMI would not qualify for the U.S. investor visa once local immigration is federalized next year. There is also concern within the local private sector that those investors who qualify for U.S. investor visa categories would leave the Commonwealth and take their businesses elsewhere in the United States.

According to the resolution, there are currently 505 permits issued to foreign investors, representing 435 companies, in the Commonwealth. Foreign investment in the Commonwealth provided direct tax revenues to the CNMI government of nearly $19.5 million in 2006 and over $16.5 million in 2007—about 10 percent of total government revenues in each of those years.

Foreign investors own or control over $500 million in assets in the Northern Marianas. Combined, their companies provide jobs to over 1,700 U.S. citizens and their immediate relatives, representing 13 percent of the U.S. citizens and immediate relative workforce in the CNMI.

“These investors really are the backbone of our economy. For many of them, the CNMI is home. Unfortunately, this federalization will put them in a state of uncertainty. We’re asking the federal government to address their predicament,” said Rep. Luis Crisostimo.

For his part, Sen. Paul A. Manglona called for the creation of a task force that will speak on behalf of the Commonwealth on federalization issues. He said the CNMI should “speak with one voice,” instead of sending different sorts of messages to the U.S. government.

“We keep coming out with piecemeal requests. What we need is a task force to look at these issues as a whole, so that we know what we want and how to convey that to the right people in Washington,” Manglona said.

The Department of Homeland Security is now drafting regulations based on the recently signed legislation, which are due for release sometime later this year.