United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2008-03-28 monographic deposited born digital 111 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-466 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466 P0b002ee1803821e0 f:d08466 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-28 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466 GAO-08-466 Federal law Federal regulations Foreign governments Foreign policies Immigration Immigration and naturalization law International agreements International relations Policy evaluation Program evaluation Proposed legislation Visas Foreign countries Program implementation Tourism Other Written Product A81442

The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is subject to most U.S. laws but, under the terms of its 1976 covenant with the United States, administers its own immigration system. It has applied this flexibility to admit substantial numbers of foreign workers, in addition to admitting tourists and foreign investors. The covenant grants Congress the right to apply federal immigration law to the CNMI. On December 11, 2007, the House of Representatives passed legislation applying U.S. immigration law to the CNMI; as of report issuance, this legislation was pending in the Senate. If passed, it will amend the covenant and will apply federal immigration law to the CNMI 1 year after the legislation's enactment, subject to a transition period that begins 1 year after enactment but may be delayed 180 days. GAO was asked to review key provisions of the pending legislation, current U.S. immigration law, and current CNMI immigration law, particularly regarding (1) foreign workers, (2) tourists, and (3) foreign investors. The Departments of Homeland Security and the Interior generally agreed with the findings in this report, and the Department of Labor provided no comments. The CNMI government disagreed with some key findings related to GAO's interpretation of the legislation. GAO continues to interpret the legislation as stated in this report. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466.pdf GAO-08-466 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-466 Other Written Product GAO-08-466; Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: Pending Legislation Would Apply U.S. Immigration Law to the CNMI with a Transition Period; Federal law Federal regulations Foreign governments Foreign policies Immigration Immigration and naturalization law International agreements International relations Policy evaluation Program evaluation Proposed legislation Visas Foreign countries Program implementation Tourism Title 5 Section 553(a) 5 U.S.C. 553(a) Title 8 Section 101(a)(15)(II) Title 8 Section 101(a)(20) Title 8 Section 1101 Title 8 Section 1101(a) Title 8 Section 1101(a)(15) Title 8 Section 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii) Title 8 Section 1101(a)(17) Title 8 Section 1101(a)(38) Title 8 Section 1101et seq. Title 8 Section 1158 Title 8 Section 1182(a)(6)(A) Title 8 Section 1182(a)(7)(B) Title 8 Section 1182(a)(9)(B) Title 8 Section 1182(d)(7) Title 8 Section 1182(m)(6)(B) Title 8 Section 1184(a)(1) Title 8 Section 1184(g) Title 8 Section 11O1(a)(15)(H) Title 8 Section 1255 Title 8 Section 1258 Title 8 Section 1302 Title 8 Section 1356(m) 8 U.S.C. 101(a)(15)(II) 8 U.S.C. 101(a)(20) 8 U.S.C. 1101 8 U.S.C. 1101(a) 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15) 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(E)(ii) 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(17) 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(38) 8 U.S.C. 1101et seq. 8 U.S.C. 1158 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A) 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(7)(B) 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(9)(B) 8 U.S.C. 1182(d)(7) 8 U.S.C. 1182(m)(6)(B) 8 U.S.C. 1184(a)(1) 8 U.S.C. 1184(g) 8 U.S.C. 11O1(a)(15)(H) 8 U.S.C. 1255 8 U.S.C. 1258 8 U.S.C. 1302 8 U.S.C. 1356(m) Title 10 Section 4342(a)(10) 10 U.S.C. 4342(a)(10) Title 48 Section 1801et seq. 48 U.S.C. 1801et seq. Volume 90 Page 263 90 Stat. 263 Volume 121 Page 188 Volume 121 Page 338 121 Stat. 188 121 Stat. 338 Public Law 94-241 Public Law 106-313 Public Law 110-28 Public Law 110-53