NEWS & ALERTS
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09 Mar2017
On April 3, 2017, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin accepting CW-1 petitions subject to the fiscal year (FY) 2018 cap. Employers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) use the CW-1 program to employ foreign workers who are otherwise ineligible to work under other nonimmigrant worker categories. The cap for CW-1 visas for FY 2018 has not been set, but it is required to be less than the FY 2017 cap, which is currently set at 12,998.
For the FY 2018 cap, an extension petition may request a start date of October 1, 2017, even if that worker’s current status will not expire by that date. We encourage employers to file a petition for a CW-1 nonimmigrant worker up to 6 months in advance of the proposed start date of employment and as early as possible within that timeframe. We will reject a petition if it is filed more than 6 months in advance.
Important reminder: As of Dec. 23, 2016, the new filing fee for a CW-1 petition is $460.
