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Group calls on FAS citizens for meeting on IR issue
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Posted on Dec 12 2008
The immediate and long-term solutions to the status of the immediate relatives of citizens of Freely Associated States will be the main agenda in an emergency meeting being organized by the United Workers Movement of NMI for tomorrow.
UWM president Irene Tantiado urged all FAS citizens and their spouses to attend this meeting (Sunday Dec. 14) to discuss the issues in anticipation of the upcoming implementation of new immigration regulations next year.
The meeting will start at 6pm at Winchell’s Garapan branch.
Tantiado said one of the main topics will be plans to ask the CNMI government to reconsider its decision to reject UWM’s petition for extension to two years for permits of immediate relatives.
An update on the long-term solution to the FAS citizens’ IR status issue will also be part of the agenda.
“We want to emphasize that this could be the last chance to do something to get an extension and so we are asking everybody to attend the meeting,” Tantiado said.
The new immigration regulations will take effect in Jan. 1, 2009.
This week, Immigration Director Melvin L. Grey pictured a bleak prospect for UWM’s earlier request to grant an extension to the permits of FAS citizens’ immediate relatives.
Grey said these aliens are subject to FAS laws and should pursue their status with their respective FAS governments.
UWM said they will not give up working for the extension of these aliens’ IR permits.
UWM is urging Immigration to extend the permit, which she said should be worked out by the CNMI government and not the FAS governments.
The CNMI Immigration had already stated that IRs of CNMI permanent residents are qualified for extension of a two-year permit.
Grey said the same two-year extension would also be applied to IRs of qualified foreign national workers because the proposed regulations make foreign national workers eligible for a two-year permit and their immediate relatives are eligible for the same length of time as the alien sponsor.
Grey also said IRs of U.S. nationals will be treated in the same manner as IRs of U.S. citizens.
