Lawmakers in the Northern Marianas are planning to ask the US secretary of Labour to extend the immigration transition period by five years.
The period is due to end in 2014, after which more than 12,000 skilled and professional workers, who aren't CNMI residents, will have to leave the territory.
The CNMI's delegate to the US Congress, Gregorio Kilili Sablan, says the Northern Marianas needs continued access to skilled workers and there is still more work to be done to prepare the territory for the transition.
Foreign workers hold skilled positions in the private sector and the CNMI's only public hospital.
