DHS Issues Final Investor Rule for CNMI

Local
Monday, December 20, 2010

DHS issues final investor rule for CNMI
2-year status covers those with $50,000 minimum investment
By Haidee V. Eugenio
Reporter

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued the long-awaited final E-2 CNMI-only investor rule which, among other things, allows eligible foreign long-term investors with a minimum of $50,000 instead of $150,000 in investments to remain in the CNMI through Dec. 31, 2014.

Eligible investors can start applying for this status on Jan. 18, 2011.

DHS' U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said petitions received prior to Jan. 18, 2011 will be rejected.

The E2 CNMI investor visa is valid for two years, is renewable, and is valid only in the CNMI.

The investor's spouse and children may also apply for a status as dependents of the investor.

DHS issued the final investor rule almost 15 months after U.S. Public Law 110-229, which placed CNMI immigration under federal control, required them to publish it.

By the end of the federalization transition period on Dec. 31, 2014, these investors are required to obtain another U.S. immigrant or nonimmigrant visa classification.

The E-2 CNMI investor rule will be published in the Federal Register on Dec. 20 in Washington, D.C. or Tuesday, Saipan time.

It is now available for review at http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-31652_PI.pdf.

Those eligible to apply for the E-2 CNMI investor status include long-term business investors, foreign investors, and retiree foreign investors.

Major change

David Gulick, district director of USCIS Honolulu District 26, said the reduction in investment for eligibility to apply for an investor status is the “major change” in the proposed rule.

He said DHS made a great deal in considering the 13 comments received.

“What I personally hope people would realize is that if you read the comment section, that peoples' comments were seriously considered. In fact, there was one change in the rule, the $50,000 from $150,000. We do take comments seriously,” Gulick said at a news conference on Saturday afternoon.

Gulick also briefed some stakeholders in the CNMI community about the final rule, which provides the procedures to obtain status as an E-2 CNMI investor.

Were it not for this modification in the proposed rule, most of the estimated 500 long-term foreign investors in the CNMI would not qualify to apply for this status because their minimum investments do not meet the $150,000 proposed threshold.

This goes along with DHS' goal and U.S. Congress' intent of minimizing the potential adverse economic impact of P.L. 110-229 or the Consolidated Natural Resources Act which was signed in May 2008 but took effect on Nov. 28, 2009, with a transition period ending Dec. 31, 2014.

The final rule also clarifies the authority and process by which applicants in the CNMI can be granted E-2 CNMI investor status in the CNMI without having to travel abroad to obtain a nonimmigrant visa.

No worker rules yet

During the news briefing, Gulick said the transitional worker regulations are still being developed.

He said there's no telling when those will be published, along with the final rule on the tourist visa waiver program.

Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan, for his part, said while DHS has made progress by issuing the investor regulation, he continues to stress to DHS officials that all regulations implementing P.L. 110-229 “must be issued, particularly the CNMI-only Transition Worker Classification.”

“The delays continue to cause harm to our struggling economy and are contrary to the intent of the law,” he said.

Other stakeholders have yet to fully review the investor rule, and have deferred comment at this time.

If you need more information

Gulick said he will be on Saipan until Wednesday, Dec. 22, and will make himself available to investors who have questions about the E-2 CNMI investor rule.

He said investors can walk in and see him if he's at the Saipan Application Support Center at the TSL Plaza in Garapan between today and Wednesday.

After Wednesday, investors need to make Infopass appointments to ask questions about the investor rule.

Gulick said he will be visiting the Japanese Consulate on the investor rule, and will also make himself available for presentations to representatives of the Korean business community, the Chinese business community, the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, and other stakeholders in the CNMI.

In the second to fourth week of January 2011, USCIS will send a team of experts to the CNMI to make presentations and answer specific questions about the investor rule.

“Included in that team will be representatives of the California Service Center, which will be the one handling these petitions. They will be able to meet with all you guys to go over the regulation, they will have power point presentation, they will be able to answer questions in depth,” Gulick said.

He said the holiday break will give investors and other stakeholders a chance to go over the investor rule and formulate specific questions they may have, in time for the visit of the USCIS representatives from California.

Fees, qualification

The current processing fee for Form I-129 is $325, plus an $85 biometrics fee for certain beneficiaries who require an initial grant of status in the CNMI.

Fee waivers for inability to pay are available.

To qualify for E-2 CNMI investor status, the applicant must:

Have been admitted to the CNMI with a long-term investor visa under CNMI immigration law before Nov. 28, 2009;

Have continuously maintained residence in the CNMI under long-term investor status;

Currently maintain the investment(s) that formed the basis for the CNMI long-term investor status; and

Otherwise be admissible to the United States under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act.

Investors who were admitted to the CNMI in long-term investor status under CNMI immigration law qualify to apply for an E-2 CNMI investor status.

They include long-term business investors that the CNMI issued a long-term business certificate based upon an investment of at least $50,000.

They also include those with a foreign investment certificate issued by the CNMI based upon an investment of at least $100,000 in an aggregate approved investment in excess of $2 million or at least $250,000 in a single approved investment.

Investors eligible also include retiree investors over the age of 55 years who were issued a foreign retiree investment certificate based upon a qualifying investment in an approved residence in the CNMI, but not including the two-year non-renewable retiree investor program limited to Japanese nationals.