The Northern Marianas' delegate to the United States Congress, Gregorio Sablan, wants the cap on the CNMI-Only Transitional Worker programme to go back to 13,000.
Gregorio Sablan Photo: RNZI Mark Rabago
He said the US Congress was already working on an extension.
Late last year, the Department of Homeland Security cut the programme by 3000 places to 9,998 and Sablan argues that further cuts would disrupt the CNMI economy and result in the loss of US jobs.
In a letter to Homeland Security, Sablan called for a cap of 12,997 for the fiscal year 2018 and 12,996 for following period, the same "cut by one".
He also told the Nielsen news agency that Republicans and Democrats in the US government were working together on legislation for the programme to go beyond 2019.
