[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1275 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1275

To implement further the Act (Public Law 94-241) approving the Covenant 
    to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 
   Political Union with the United States of America, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 8, 1997

  Mr. Murkowski (for himself and Mr. Akaka) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To implement further the Act (Public Law 94-241) approving the Covenant 
    to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 
   Political Union with the United States of America, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND REFERENCE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Mariana Islands Covenant 
Implementation Act''. Public Law 94-241 (90 Stat. 263, 48 U.S.C. 1801), 
which approved the Covenant to Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America, 
as amended, hereinafter is referred to as the ``Covenant Act''.

SEC. 2. IMMIGRATION REFORM FOR THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

    (a) Covenant Act Amendments.--The Covenant Act is amended to add 
the following new section 6 after section 5:

``SEC. 6. TRANSITION PROGRAM FOR IMMIGRATION.

    ``Pursuant to section 503 of the Covenant to Establish a 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with 
the United States of America (approved in Public Law 94-241, 90 Stat. 
263):
    ``(a) Application of the Immigration and Nationality Act and 
Establishment of a Transition Program.--Effective on the first day of 
the first full month commencing one year after the date of enactment of 
this section, the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
amended, shall apply to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands, with a transition period not to exceed ten years thereafter, 
during which the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretaries 
of State, Labor, and Interior, shall establish, administer, and enforce 
a transition program for immigration to the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands (the ``transition program''). The transition 
program established pursuant to this section shall provide for the 
issuance of nonimmigrant temporary alien worker visas pursuant to 
subsection (b), and, under the circumstances set forth in subsection 
(c), for family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant visas. The 
transition program shall be implemented pursuant to regulations to be 
promulgated as appropriate by each agency having responsibilities under 
the transition program.
    ``(b) Temporary Alien Workers.--The transition program shall 
conform to the following requirements with respect to temporary alien 
workers who would otherwise not be eligible for nonimmigrant 
classification under the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended:
            ``(1) Aliens admitted under this subsection shall be 
        treated as aliens seeking classification as nonimmigrants under 
        section 101(a)(15) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
        amended, including the right to apply, if otherwise eligible, 
        for a change of nonimmigrant status under section 248 of the 
        Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, or adjustment of 
        status, if eligible therefor, under subsection (c) of this 
        section and section 245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 
        as amended.
            ``(2)(A) The Secretary of Labor shall establish, 
        administer, and enforce a system for allocating and determining 
        the number, terms, and conditions of permits to be issued to 
        prospective employers for each temporary alien worker who would 
        not otherwise be eligible for admission under the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act, as amended. This system shall provide for 
a reduction in the allocation of permits for such workers on an annual 
basis, over a period not to exceed ten years. In no event shall a 
permit be valid beyond the expiration of the transition period. This 
system may be based on any reasonable method and criteria determined by 
the Secretary of Labor to promote the maximum use of, and to prevent 
adverse effects on wages and working conditions of, United States labor 
and lawfully admissible freely associated state citizen labor.
            ``(B) The Secretary of Labor is authorized to establish and 
        collect appropriate user fees for the purpose of this section. 
        Amounts collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited 
        to a special fund of the Treasury. Such amounts shall be 
        available, to the extent and in the amounts as provided in 
        advance in appropriations acts, for the purposes of 
        administering this section. Such amounts are authorized to be 
        appropriated to remain available until expended.
            ``(3) The Attorney General shall set the conditions for 
        admission of nonimmigrant temporary alien workers under the 
        transition program, and the Secretary of State shall authorize 
        the issuance of nonimmigrant visas for aliens to engage in 
        employment only as authorized in this subsection: Provided, 
        That such visas shall not be valid for admission to the United 
        States, as defined in section 101(a)(38) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, as amended, except the Northern Mariana 
        Islands. An alien admitted to the Northern Mariana Islands on 
        the basis of such a nonimmigrant visa shall be permitted to 
        engage in employment only as authorized pursuant to the 
        transition program. No alien shall be granted nonimmigrant 
        classification or a visa under this subsection unless the 
        permit requirements established under paragraph (2) of this 
        subsection have been met.
            ``(4) An alien admitted as a nonimmigrant pursuant to this 
        subsection shall be permitted to transfer between employers in 
        the Northern Mariana Islands during the period of such alien's 
        authorized stay therein, provided that such transfer is 
        authorized by the Attorney General in accordance with criteria 
        established by the Attorney General and the Secretary of Labor.
    ``(c) Immigrants.--With the exception of immediate relatives, as 
defined in section 201(b)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
amended, and except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this 
subsection, no alien shall be granted initial admission as a lawful 
permanent resident of the United States at a port-of-entry in the 
Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose 
of immigrating to the Northern Mariana Islands:
            ``(1) Family-sponsored immigrant visas.--The Attorney 
        General, based on a joint recommendation of the Governor and 
        Legislature of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands, and in consultation with appropriate federal agencies, 
        may establish a specific number of additional initial 
        admissions as a family-sponsored immigrant at a port-of-entry 
        in the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam 
        for the purpose of immigrating to the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        pursuant to sections 202 and 203(a) of the Immigration and 
        Nationality Act, as amended, during the following fiscal year.
            ``(2) Employment-based immigrant visas.--
                    ``(A) If the Secretary of Labor, upon receipt of a 
                joint recommendation of the Governor and Legislature of 
                the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, finds 
                that exceptional circumstances exist with respect to 
                the inability of employers in the Northern Mariana 
                Islands to obtain sufficient work-authorized labor, the 
                Attorney General may establish a specific number of 
                employment-based immigrant visas to be made available 
                during the following fiscal year under section 203(b) 
                of the Immigration and nationality Act, as amended.
                    ``(B) Upon notification by the Attorney General 
                that a number has been established pursuant to 
                subparagraph (A) of this paragraph, the Secretary of 
                State may allocate up to that number of visas without 
                regard to the numerical limitations set forth in 
                sections 202 and 203(b)(3)(B) of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act, as amended. Visa numbers allocated 
                under this subparagraph shall be allocated first from 
                the number of visas available under section 203(b)(3) 
                of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, or, 
                if such visa numbers are not available, from the number 
                of visas available under section 203(b)(5) of such Act.
                    ``(C) Persons granted employment-based immigrant 
                visas under the transition program may be admitted 
                initially at a port-of-entry in the Northern Mariana 
                Islands, or at a port-of-entry in Guam for the purpose 
                of immigrating to the Northern Mariana Islands, as 
                lawful permanent residents of the United States.
                    ``(D) Any immigrant visa issued pursuant to this 
                paragraph shall be valid only for application for 
                initial admission to the Northern Mariana Islands. The 
                admission of any alien pursuant to such an immigrant 
                visa shall be an admission for lawful permanent 
                residence and employment only in the Northern Mariana 
                Islands during the first five years after such 
                admission. Such admission shall not authorize permanent 
                residence or employment in any other part of the United 
                States during such five-year period. An alien admitted 
                for permanent residence pursuant to this paragraph 
                shall be issued appropriate documentation identifying 
                the person as having been admitted pursuant to the 
                terms and conditions of this transition program, and 
                shall be required to comply with a system for the 
                registration and reporting of aliens admitted for 
                permanent residence under the transition program, to be 
                established by the Attorney General, by regulation, 
                consistent with the Attorney General's authority under 
                Chapter 7 of Title II of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act, as amended.
                    ``(E) Nothing in this paragraph shall preclude an 
                alien who has obtained lawful permanent resident status 
                pursuant to this paragraph from applying, if otherwise 
                eligible under this section and under the Immigration 
                and Nationality Act, as amended, for an immigrant visa 
or admission as a lawful permanent resident under the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, as amended.
                    ``(F) Any alien admitted under this subsection, who 
                violates the provisions of this paragraph, or who is 
                found removable or inadmissible under section 237(a), 
                or paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (4)(A), (4)(B), (6), (7), 
                (8), or (9) of section 212(a), shall be removed from 
                the United States pursuant to sections 239, 240, and 
                241 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.
                    ``(G) The Attorney General may establish by 
                regulation a procedure by which an alien who has 
                obtained lawful permanent resident status pursuant to 
                this paragraph may apply for a waiver of the 
                limitations on the terms and conditions of such status. 
                The Attorney General may grant the application for 
                waiver, in the discretion of the Attorney General, if: 
                (1) the alien is not in removal proceedings, (2) the 
                alien has been a person of good moral character for the 
                preceding five years, (3) the alien has not violated 
                the terms and conditions of the alien's permanent 
                resident status, and (4) the alien would suffer 
                exceptional and extremely unusual hardship were such 
                terms and conditions not waived.
                    ``(H) The limitations on the terms and conditions 
                of an alien's permanent residence set forth in this 
                paragraph shall expire at the end of five years after 
                the alien's admission to the Northern Mariana Islands 
                as a permanent resident and the alien is thereafter 
                fully subject to the provisions of the Immigration and 
                Nationality Act, as amended. Following the expiration 
                of such limitations, the permanent resident alien may 
                engage in any lawful activity, including employment, 
                anywhere in the United States. Such an alien, if 
                otherwise eligible for naturalization, may count the 
                five-year period in the Northern Mariana Islands 
                towards time in the United States for purposes of 
                meeting the residence requirements of Title III of the 
                Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.
    ``(d) Investor Visas.--The following requirements shall apply to 
aliens who have been admitted to the Northern Mariana Islands in long-
term investor status under the immigration laws of the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands on or before the effective date of this 
Act and who have continuously maintained residence in the Northern 
Mariana Islands pursuant to such status:
            ``(1) Such aliens may apply to the Attorney General or a 
        consular officer for classification as a nonimmigrant under the 
        transition program. Any nonimmigrant status granted as a result 
        of such application shall terminate not later than December 31, 
        2008.
            ``(2) During the six-month period beginning January 1, 
        2008, and ending June 30, 2008, any alien granted nonimmigrant 
        status pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be 
        permitted to apply to the Attorney General for status as a 
        lawful permanent resident of the United States effective on or 
        after January 1, 2009, amd may be granted such status if 
        otherwise admissible. Upon granting permanent residence to any 
        such alien, the Attorney General shall advise the Secretary of 
        State who shall reduce by one number, during the fiscal year in 
        which the grant of status becomes effective, the total number 
        of immigrant visas available to natives of the country of the 
        alien's chargeability under section 202(b) of the Immigration 
        and Nationality Act, as amended.
    ``(e) Persons Lawfully Admitted Under the Commonwealth of the 
Northern Mariana Islands Immigration Law.--Subject to subsection (d) of 
this section, persons who would have been lawfully present in the 
Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to the immigration laws of the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the effective date of 
this subsection, shall be permitted to remain in the Northern Mariana 
Islands for the completion of the period of admission under such laws, 
or for two years, which is less.
    ``(f) Travel Restrictions for Certain Applicants for Asylum.--Any 
alien admitted to the Northern Mariana Islands pursuant to the 
immigration laws of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or 
pursuant to subsections (b) or (c) of this section who files an 
application seeking asylum in the United States shall be required, 
pursuant to regulations established by the Attorney General, to remain 
in the Northern Mariana Islands, during the period of time the 
application is being adjudicated or during any appeals filed subsequent 
to such adjudication. An applicant for asylum who, during the time his 
application is being adjudicated or during any appeals filed subsequent 
to such adjudication, leaves the Northern Mariana Islands of his own 
will without prior authorization by the Attorney General thereby 
abandons the application.
    ``(g) Effect on Other Laws.--Effective on the first day of the 
first full month commencing one year after the date of enactment of 
this section, the provisions of this section and the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, as amended, shall supersede and replace all laws, 
provisions, or programs of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
Islands relating to the admission of aliens and the removal of aliens 
from the Northern Mariana Islands.''
    ``(h) Accrual of Time.--No time of ``unlawful presence'' in the 
Northern Mariana Islands shall accrue for purposes of the ground of 
inadmissibility in section 212(a)(9)(B) prior to the date of enactment 
of this subsection.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--(1) Effective on the first day of the 
first full month commencing one year after the date of enactment of 
this section, section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as 
amended, is amended as follows:
            (A) in paragraph (36), by deleting ``and the Virgin Islands 
        of the United States.'' and substituting ``the Virgin Islands 
        of the United States, and the Northern Mariana Islands.''; and
            (B) in paragraph (38), by deleting ``and the Virgin Islands 
        of the United States'' and substituting ``the Virgin Islands of 
        the United States, and the Northern Mariana Islands.''.
    (2) Effective on the first day of the first full month commencing 
on date of enactment of this section, subsection (l) of section 212 of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, is amended as follows:
            (A) in paragraph (1),
                    (i) strike the words ``stay on Guam'', and insert 
                the words ``stay on Guam and the Northern Mariana 
                Islands'',
                    (ii) after the word ``exceed'' insert the words ``a 
                total of '', and,
                    (iii) strike the words ``after consultation with 
                the Governor of Guam,'' and insert the words ``after 
                respective consultation with the Governor of Guam or 
                the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern 
                Mariana Islands,'';
            (B) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), strike the words 
        ``on Guam'', and insert the words ``on Guam or the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, respectively,'';
            (C) in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2), strike the words 
        ``into Guam'', and insert the words ``into Guam or the Northern 
        Mariana Islands, respectively,''; and
            (D) in paragraph (3), strike the words ``Government of 
        Guam'' and insert the words ``Government of Guam or the 
        Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
        Islands''.
    (c) Technical Assistance Program.--The Secretaries of the Interior 
and Labor, in consultation with the Commonwealth of the Northern 
Mariana Islands, shall develop a program of technical assistance, 
including recruitment and training, to aid employers in securing 
employees from among United States labor or lawfully admissible freely 
associated state citizen labor.
    (d) Department of Justice and Department of Labor Operations.--The 
Attorney General and the Department of Labor are authorized to 
establish and maintain Immigration and Naturalization Service, 
Executive Office of Immigration Review, and Department of Labor 
operations in the Northern Mariana Islands for the purpose of 
performing their responsibilities under the Immigration and Nationality 
Act, as amended, and under the transition program. To the extent 
practicable and consistent with the satisfactory performance of their 
assigned responsibilities under applicable law, the Departments of 
Justice and Labor shall recruit and hire from among qualified 
applicants resident in the Northern Mariana Islands for staffing such 
operations.
    (e) Report to the Congress.--The President shall report to the 
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the House 
Committee on Resources, within six months after the fifth anniversary 
of the enactment of this Act, evaluating the overall effect of the 
transition program and the Immigration and Nationality Act on the 
Northern Mariana Islands, and at other times as the President deems 
appropriate.
    (f) Limitation on Number of Temporary Workers Prior to Application 
of the Immigration and Naturalization Act and Establishment of the 
Transition Program.--During the period between enactment of this 
section and the effective date of the transition program, the 
government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall 
not permit an increase in the total number of temporary alien workers 
who were present in the Northern Mariana Islands on the date of 
enactment of this section.
    (g) Appropriations.--There are authorized to be appropriated such 
sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this section and 
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, with respect to the 
Northern Mariana Islands.

SEC. 3. MINIMUM WAGE.

    The Covenant Act is amended to add the following new section 7 
after section 6:

``SEC. 7. MINIMUM WAGE.

    ``Pursuant to section 503 of the Covenant to Establish a 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union with 
the United States of America (approved in Public Law 94-241, 90 Stat. 
263)--
    ``(a) Effective thirty days after enactment of this Act, the 
minimum wage provisions of section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
June 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1062), as amended, shall apply to the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands except:
            ``(1) the minimum wage rate applicable to the Commonwealth 
        of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be $3.35 per hour; and
            ``(2) effective January 1, 1999, and every January 1 
        thereafter, the minimum wage rate applicable to the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall be raised by 
        thirty cents per hour or the amount necessary to raise the 
        applicable minimum wage rate to the wage rate set forth in 
        section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, whichever is 
        less; and
    ``(b) Once the minimum wage rate applicable to the Commonwealth of 
the Northern Mariana Islands is equal to the wage rate set forth in 
section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act, the minimum wage rate 
applicable to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands shall 
thereafter be the wage rate set forth in section 6(a)(1) of the Fair 
Labor Standards Act.

SEC. 4. LABELING REQUIREMENTS FOR TEXTILE AND APPAREL PRODUCTS.

    The Covenant Act is amended to add the following new section 8 
after section 7:

``SEC. 8. LABELING OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL PRODUCTS.

    (a) No textile or apparel product that is produced in the Northern 
Mariana Islands shall have a stamp, tag, label, or other means of 
identification or substitute therefor on or affixed to the product 
stating `Made in USA' or otherwise stating or implying that the product 
was produced in the United States unless the product is produced in a 
factory certified by the United States Department of Labor, in 
accordance with regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor, to use 
full-time employee equivalents of labor in the required percentage of 
qualified hours.
    ``(b) A textile or apparel product that does not meet the 
requirements of subsection (a), or where the certification by the 
United States Department of Labor is based on false or incomplete 
information provided to the United States Department of Labor, shall be 
deemed to be misbranded for the purposes of the Textile Fiber Products 
Identification Act (Public Law 85-897, 72 Stat. 1717).
    ``(c) In this section:
            ``(1) Freely associated state.--The term `freely associated 
        state' means the Republic of Palau, the Republic of the 
        Marshall Islands, or the Federated States of Micronesia.
            ``(2) Qualified hours.--The term `qualified hours' means 
        the hours of labor performed by a person who is a citizen, 
        national, or other protected individual as defined in section 
        274B(a)(3) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended 
        (without regard to application for naturalization), or who is a 
        citizen of a freely associated state (as long as section 141 in 
        the respective Compacts of Free Association with the Republic 
        of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia or 
        the Republic of Palau (Public Law 99-239 or Public Law 99-658) 
        or equivalent provisions are in effect).
            ``(3) Required percentage.--The term `required percentage' 
        means--
                    ``(A) 20 percent, for the period beginning January 
                1, 1998, through December 31, 1998;
                    ``(B) 35 percent, for the period beginning January 
                1, 1999, through December 31, 1999; and
                    ``(C) 50 percent, for the period beginning January 
                1, 2000, and thereafter.''

SEC. 5. TARIFFS.

    General Note 3(a)(iv) of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the 
United States is amended to add at the end the following:
                    ``(E) No textile or apparel product that is 
                produced in the Northern Mariana Islands shall be 
                admitted duty-free into the customs territory of the 
                United States as the product of an insular possession, 
                unless the product is produced in a factory certified 
                by the United States Department of Labor, in accordance 
                with regulations issued by the Secretary of Labor, to 
                use full-time employee equivalents of labor in the 
                required percentage of qualified hours. In this 
                subparagraph:
                            ``(i) Freely associated state.--The term 
                        `freely associated state' means the Republic of 
                        Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, or 
                        the Federated States of Micronesia.
                            ``(ii) Qualified hours.--The term 
                        `qualified hours' means the hours of labor 
                        performed by a person who is a citizen, 
                        national, or other protected individual as 
                        defined in section 274B(a)(3) of the 
                        Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended 
                        (without regard to application for 
                        naturalization), or who is a citizen of a 
                        freely associated state (as long as section 141 
                        in the respective Compacts of Free Association 
                        with the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the 
                        Federated States of Micronesia or the Republic 
                        of Palau (Public Law 99-239 or Public Law 99-
                        658) or equivalent provisions are in effect).
                            ``(iii) Required percentage.--The term 
                        `required percentage' means--
                                    ``(I) 20 percent, for the period 
                                beginning January 1, 1998, through 
                                December 31, 1998;
                                    ``(II) 35 percent, for the period 
                                beginning January 1, 1999, through 
                                December 31, 1999; and
                                    ``(III) 50 percent, for the period 
                                beginning January 1, 2000, and 
                                thereafter.''
                                 <all>