[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 559 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.559
One Hundred Sixteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and nineteen
An Act
To amend section 6 of the Joint Resolution entitled ``A Joint Resolution
to approve 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Mariana Islands Long-Term
Legal Residents Relief Act''.
SEC. 2. LONG-TERM LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN
MARIANA ISLANDS.
Section 6(e) of the Joint Resolution entitled ``A Joint Resolution
to approve the Covenant To Establish a Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands in Political Union with the United States of America,
and for other purposes'', approved March 24, 1976 (48 U.S.C. 1806), is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(6) Special provision regarding long-term residents of the
commonwealth.--
``(A) CNMI resident status.--An alien described in
subparagraph (B) may, upon the application of the alien, be
admitted in CNMI Resident status to the Commonwealth subject to
the following rules:
``(i) The alien shall be treated as an alien lawfully
admitted to the Commonwealth only, including permitting
entry to and exit from the Commonwealth, until the earlier
of the date on which--
``(I) the alien ceases to reside in the
Commonwealth; or
``(II) the alien's status is adjusted under section
245 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1255) to that of an alien lawfully admitted for
permanent residence in accordance with all applicable
eligibility requirements.
``(ii) The Secretary of Homeland Security--
``(I) shall establish a process for such alien to
apply for CNMI Resident status during the 180-day
period beginning on a date determined by the Secretary
but not later than the first day of the sixth month
after the date of the enactment of this paragraph; and
``(II) may, in the Secretary's discretion,
authorize deferred action or parole, as appropriate,
with work authorization, for such alien beginning on
the date of the enactment of this paragraph and
continuing through the end of such 180-day period or
the date of adjudication of the alien's application for
CNMI Resident status, whichever is later.
``(iii) Nothing in this subparagraph may be construed
to provide any alien granted status under this subparagraph
with public assistance to which the alien is not otherwise
entitled.
``(iv) An alien granted status under this paragraph--
``(I) is subject to all grounds of deportability
under section 237 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1227);
``(II) is subject to all grounds of inadmissibility
under section 212 of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1182) if seeking admission to the United
States at a port of entry in the Commonwealth;
``(III) is inadmissible to the United States at any
port of entry outside the Commonwealth, except that the
Secretary of Homeland Security may in the Secretary's
discretion authorize admission of such alien at a port
of entry in Guam for the purpose of direct transit to
the Commonwealth, which admission shall be considered
an admission to the Commonwealth;
``(IV) automatically shall lose such status if the
alien travels from the Commonwealth to any other place
in the United States, except that the Secretary of
Homeland Security may in the Secretary's discretion
establish procedures for the advance approval on a
case-by-case basis of such travel for a temporary and
legitimate purpose, and the Secretary may in the
Secretary's discretion authorize the direct transit of
aliens with CNMI Resident status through Guam to a
foreign place;
``(V) shall be authorized to work in the
Commonwealth incident to status; and
``(VI) shall be issued appropriate travel
documentation and evidence of work authorization by the
Secretary.
``(B) Aliens described.--An alien is described in this
subparagraph if the alien--
``(i) was lawfully present on the date of the enactment
of this paragraph or on December 31, 2018, in the
Commonwealth under the immigration laws of the United
States, including pursuant to a grant of parole under
section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1182(d)(5)) or deferred action;
``(ii) is admissible as an immigrant to the United
States under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1101 et seq.), except that no immigrant visa is required;
``(iii) resided continuously and lawfully in the
Commonwealth from November 28, 2009, through the date of
the enactment of this paragraph;
``(iv) is not a citizen of the Republic of the Marshall
Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, or the
Republic of Palau; and
``(v) in addition--
``(I) was born in the Northern Mariana Islands
between January 1, 1974, and January 9, 1978;
``(II) was, on November 27, 2009, a permanent
resident of the Commonwealth (as defined in section
4303 of title 3 of the Northern Mariana Islands
Commonwealth Code, in effect on May 8, 2008);
``(III) is the spouse or child (as defined in
section 101(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(1))) of an alien described in
subclause (I) or (II);
``(IV) was, on November 27, 2011, a spouse, child,
or parent of a United States citizen, notwithstanding
the age of the United States citizen, and continues to
have such family relationship with the citizen on the
date of the application described in subparagraph (A);
or
``(V) had a grant of parole under section 212(d)(5)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(d)(5)) on December 31, 2018, under the former
parole program for certain in-home caregivers
administered by United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services.
``(C) Authority of attorney general.--Beginning on the
first day of the 180-day period established by the Secretary of
Homeland Security under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), the Attorney
General may accept and adjudicate an application for CNMI
Resident status under this paragraph by an alien who is in
removal proceedings before the Attorney General if the alien--
``(i) makes an initial application to the Attorney
General within such 180-day period; or
``(ii) applied to the Secretary of Homeland Security
during such 180-period and before being placed in removal
proceedings, and the Secretary denied the application.
``(D) Judicial review.--Notwithstanding any other law, no
court shall have jurisdiction to review any decision of the
Secretary of Homeland Security or the Attorney General on an
application under this paragraph or any other action or
determination of the Secretary of Homeland Security or the
Attorney General to implement, administer, or enforce this
paragraph.
``(E) Procedure.--The requirements of chapter 5 of title 5,
United States Code (commonly referred to as the Administrative
Procedure Act), or any other law relating to rulemaking,
information collection or publication in the Federal Register
shall not apply to any action to implement, administer or
enforce this paragraph.''.
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional
Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.