The US House of Representatives has passed a bill which extends the CNMI's foreign worker programme for another ten years.
The bill also contains significant new protections for US workers from unfair competition from foreign labour and incentivises employers to hire US workers.
Photo: 123RF
The legislation also takes aim at fraud and abuse of the system to protect the legitimate local businesses that still depend on foreign workers.
The bill, which was widely popular in the Marianas, now goes to the Senate for approval.
The Marianas is heavily dependent on foreign workers and there are fears if the foreign worker programme is not extended, more than 10,000 foreign workers would have to leave the CNMI.
