According to a notice published in the October 22 Federal Register, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will allow up to 12,999 nonimmigrants in fiscal year 2016 for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)-Only Transitional Worker program (CW-1). Under this program, employers in the CNMI can apply for temporary permission to hire foreign nationals who are ineligible for any existing nonimmigrant employment-based visas.
This CW program will be in effect until December 31, 2019. DHS reduced the FY16 CW-1 limit by 1,000 in order to meet the CNMI’s existing labor market needs and provide opportunity for growth, while still meeting a regulatory requirement to reduce the numerical limit each year.
