{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://sablan.house.gov/uscis-processes-800-cw-applications", "USCIS processes 800 CW applications", "2016-01-05", "2016", "2016-01", "Independent", "Senate", "MP", "Gregorio Sablan", "S001177", "sablan.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Marianas Variety- U.S. Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan says U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services processed 800 CW-1 permit renewal applications on Tuesday, local time, and assured him that most of these applications will be approved.\nIn a media conference, Sablan said he received a call from Leon Rodriguez, the USCIS director, on Tuesday morning telling the congressman that the 800 applications for CW permit renewals submitted at least 90 days before expiration would be processed by the end of the day, Tuesday.\nRodriguez was in Washington, D.C. while Sablan was on Saipan when they spoke on the phone.\nHe assured me that they are going to approve most of the applications and only a small number will require more evidence from the applicants and a smaller number will probably be denied, Sablan said during the press conference.\nUSCIS, he added, will continue to process the other 2,000 pending renewal applications submitted later than 90 days before their expiration.\nSablan said USCIS informed him that there were 2,800 applications backlogged at the processing center in California of which 800 were filed 90 days before expiration and 2,000 were filed later.\nThat was unacceptable to me and we are already seeing the negative effects of that backlog with businesses having to close or cut back hours, he said.\nSablan urged employers to go online and check the status of their applications. If these have been approved already, employers should print them out and keep copies until the originals come in by mail.\nHe said USCIS will continue to provide additional resources and the people assigned to review this process will continue to review the other petitions as they move forward  hopefully we can resolve this issue sooner rather than later.\nSablan said he also inquired about the status of his request for a 240-day grace period regulation.\nMr. Rodriguez doesnt have an immediate answer for me  they are again circling the wagons as they talk to lawyers. Because my request was for an emergency regulation, even if they were to approve it after the final publication in the Federal Register, it still needs 30 days to become effective. But I will continue to urge them to approve it, and I have a good feeling about getting that finalized sooner than later.\nI cant say when, but I can say that we will not have this kind of problem [again this year] orcome 2017, he added.\nSablan said he asked USCIS to include the CWs in their review of the processing for all kinds of visas.\n240 days is for certain H visas and other kinds of visas so we ask that they include the CW permits in the drafting of those regs.\nSablan said that his office has been working daily even during the holidays to make sure that USCIS put extra people to work on the processing of CW renewal applications and other measures that could help keep affected CNMI businesses open.\nHe said they have been in touch with USCIS officials every day since the backlog was revealed.\nI very much appreciate that Director Rodriguez called today to give me an update and give me his personal commitment that he is taking action and that we will see results today, Sablan said.\nHe plans to visit the USCIS office in California on Thursday to find out if there are more updates.\nHe wont be able to attend the memorial services that the CNMI government is preparing for the late Gov. Eloy S. Inos, as Sablan said he will be in the states to follow up on the 902 consultations with the White House that the late governor requested in October.\nSablan said Gov. Ralph Torres has asked him to deliver a letter to the White House.\nThe administration plans to discuss CW and military buildup issues during the 902 talks.\nThe end of the CW program in 2019 is still a very important issue, Sablan said. We have workers here that dont qualify for H visas and so CW is a catch-all. I dont want the employers to lose their CW employees because the CW slots are being filled by construction workers who should be hired through the H--B visa process instead.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://sablan.house.gov/uscis-processes-800-cw-applications"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8242421317845583, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}