WASHINGTON—On May 14, 2020, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will
publish an interim final rule (IFR)
implementing the Northern Mariana Islands U.S.
Workforce Act of 2018, which protects U.S. workers in the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and ensures that U.S. workers will
not be displaced or encounter a competitive disadvantage for employment
compared to non-U.S. workers.
“In addition to implementing
legislation, this rule follows the clear guidance laid out by President Trump’s
Buy American and Hire American executive order, which called on the Department
of Homeland Security to propose rules to protect the interests of U.S. workers
in the administration of our immigration system,” said USCIS Deputy Director
for Policy Joseph Edlow.
Key among the changes, the IFR
requires CW-1 employers to enroll in the E-Verify program with
respect to all their hiring sites in the CNMI and elsewhere in the United
States, and be a participant in good standing in the program. E-Verify is a
web-based system that allows enrolled employers to confirm the eligibility of
their employees to work in the United States.
The IFR also requires CW-1 employers
file a semiannual report to verify the continuing employment and payment of the
CW-1 worker under the terms and conditions set forth in the CW-1 petition.
USCIS is implementing this new statutory requirement through a new standalone
form, Form I-129CWR, Semiannual Report for CW-1 Employers.
The IFR establishes that the
semiannual report is required for all CW-1 petitions approved by USCIS with
employment start dates in fiscal year 2020 for a validity period of six months
or more. Since the IFR effective date June 18, 2020 falls after the sixth month
of FY 2020, USCIS is offering a one-time additional 60-day period in which
affected employers may comply with the new semiannual report requirement. For
petitions approved with start dates from Oct. 1, 2019, through Dec. 18, 2019,
CW-1 employers will have until Aug. 17, 2020 to file Form I-129CWR as required
in the IFR.
Other key updates in the IFR
include:
- Requiring a CW-1 petition to be filed with an approved
temporary labor certification from the U.S. Department of Labor;
- Establishing minimum wage requirements for a CW
employer;
- Establishing procedures for revoking an employer’s CW-1
petition, based upon existing revocation grounds in place for other
nonimmigrants; and
- Incorporating the definition of legitimate business as
set forth in the Workforce Act, including the requirement that CW-1
employers enroll in and be a participant in good standing in the E-Verify
program as a condition of filing CW-1 petitions.
The Workforce Act required DHS to
proceed by publishing an interim final rule and written comments will be
considered in developing a final rule. The public may submit comments and
related materials on or before July 13, 2020. Comments on the form, form
instructions, and information collection revisions in this interim rule must be
submitted on or before June 13, 2020. The interim final rule will go into
effect on June 18, 2020.
For more
information on USCIS and our programs, please visit uscis.gov or
follow us on Twitter (@uscis),
Instagram (/uscis), YouTube (/uscis), Facebook (/uscis) and LinkedIn (/uscis).
For more information contact us at http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/
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