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Northern Mariana Islands Workforce Improvement Act
To eliminate the touchback requirement for certain Commonwealth Only Workers, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill modifies the Commonwealth Only Worker program for the Northern Mariana Islands by extending work permit durations for certain long-term workers. Normally, Commonwealth Only Worker permits are valid for one year and can be renewed for additional one-year periods. The bill creates an exception for workers who were admitted as Commonwealth Only Transitional Workers in fiscal year 2015 and in at least two other years between 2016 and 2019; these long-term workers can receive permits valid for up to three years, which can be renewed for additional three-year periods. Work permits issued under this provision count toward the Commonwealth's annual numerical cap for each year the permit is valid. The changes take effect retroactively as if they were included in a 2018 law.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
Actions (2)
- May 20, 2026 Referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. · house
- May 20, 2026 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 20, 2026
Ms. King-Hinds introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To eliminate the touchback requirement for certain Commonwealth Only Workers, 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 Workforce Improvement Act”.
SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF TOUCHBACK REQUIREMENT.
(a) In General.—Section 6(d)(7) of Public Law 94-241 (48 U.S.C. 1806(d)(7)) is amended to read as follows:
“(7) Permit validity; long-term workers.—
“(A) In general.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a permit for a Commonwealth Only Worker shall be valid for a period not to exceed 1 year.
“(B) Renewals.—A permit issued under subparagraph
(A) may be renewed for additional periods of not more than 1 year each, subject to the requirements of this subsection.
“(C) Long-term workers.—An alien who was admitted to the Commonwealth as a Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker—
“(i) during fiscal year 2015; and
“(ii) during two of fiscal years 2016, 2017, 2018, or 2019, may be admitted as a Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker for a period that may not exceed 3 years and may be renewed for additional 3-year periods during the transition period. A permit issued pursuant to this subparagraph shall be counted toward the numerical cap for each fiscal year for which the permit is valid.”.
(b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect as if included in the enactment of Public Law 115-218. <all>
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