USCIS to Conduct “Green Card” Interviews in Saipan
CNMI Customers Will Save Time and Money
SAIPAN, CNMI —U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today it will begin conducting "green card" interviews on March 23 at its new Application Support Center (ASC) in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) .
Applicants from Tinian, Rota and Saipan seeking U.S. Lawful Permanent Residence or "green cards" will be now be scheduled for interviews at USCIS' new facility in Garapan.
“We are very pleased that legal counsel gave us the go-ahead to provide this essential service to our CNMI customers,” said USCIS District Director David Gulick, who is based in Honolulu. "It makes sense for us to do as much as we can to serve the community through this local office. Now customers will save the time, effort and expense of traveling to Guam for their interviews.”
In addition to the traditional ASC biometric services such as fingerprinting, the Saipan office already offers expanded services including general immigration information and naturalization interviews. Now “green card” interviews will be added to those services.
Customers interested in speaking to an Immigration Services Officer should make an “InfoPass” appointment online at www.uscis.gov. Customers with appointments will receive priority.
People can call the toll-free USCIS customer service line at (800) 375-5283. In addition, the most current information about federal immigration in relation to the CNMI can be accessed via the USCIS Press Room at www.uscis.gov.
USCIS is the agency within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that provides immigration benefits.
Currently U.S. immigration law only applies to immediate relatives of U.S. Citizens as defined within the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). U.S. immigration law in general will be applied to the CNMI, with the Transition Period currently scheduled to begin on June 1, 2009.
This post covers some basic legal issues on child custody in the CNMI.
Generally, the child must still be a minor (less than 18 years old). In a divorce, the court will determine custody and specify it in the divorce decree. For unmarried parents, one of the parents will need to start a court action. back to top
Like most court actions, both parties present evidence – testimony or documents – to the court.
In deciding who gets custody, the main focus of the court is the best interests of the child. This is not necessarily the same thing as what a parent wants. The child’s best interests are based on the child’s needs and well-being.
Although the CNMI statutes do not provide details on how a court figures out what is in the child’s best interest, several factors may include the following:
● The stability and safety of the home.
● The love and affection between the child and each parent.
● The ability and desire of each parent to provide for the food, clothing, shelter, medical and other needs of the children. The financial ability to provide for the child is not significant in figuring out custody, because the court can award child support.
● The willingness of each parent to encourage a close and continuing relationship with the other parent (unless that parent is abusive or provides a very unhealthy environment). back to top
The court will almost always allow the other parent to have the right to child visitation. This is based on the understanding that children will normally do better when there is a meaningful relationship with both parents. The parents or the court will determine what the visitation schedule should be. back to top
If a parent is concerned about the child’s safety during visitation with the other parent (for example, if there is a history of domestic violence, alcohol or drug abuse, etc.), then the concerned parent should explain to the court that visitation should be supervised, or that there should be some other form of restriction on visitation. If family members are speaking badly about a parent or making it difficult to transfer the children to the other parent, this should also be explained to the court. back to top
In Saipan, a child visitation center is planned to open this year (2008). The center will serve as a safe, neutral location where the exchange of children or actual visits can take place. A court may order visitation to be scheduled at the center, which will be managed by Connecting Families, a non-profit organization. The purpose of the center is to promote a healthy atmosphere between parents and their children during stressful times involving divorce, separation, domestic violence or substance abuse. back to top
To change the terms of custody, there needs to have been a substantial change of circumstances since the original divorce decree or custody order. There can be many types of changes. However, to modify custody, the change must be substantial. Also, the custody modification still needs to be in the best interests of the child. You will need to file a motion for modification with the court. In your motion, you will need to explain the substantial change in circumstances. You will also need to explain how the custody modification will be in the best interests of the child. back to top
If the parents agree on custody and visitation, they can give the court a copy of the written agreement and ask that the agreement be turned into a court order. This can be done by including the agreement in the divorce decree or custody order. However, the court may reject the agreement if it believes that it is not in the child’s best interests. back to top
You have the right to submit an application for food stamps. NAP cannot stop you from applying. See #6 below (What if an NAP caseworker treats me unfairly?). back to top
Yes, but certain aliens may also qualify. Aliens who can qualify generally fall under U.S. immigration categories, such as those admitted for permanent residence (i.e., green card holders), refugees, and those granted asylum. If you cannot get food stamps, your family household members who are U.S. citizens or qualifying aliens may still be eligible to get them. back to top
Food stamps are a government benefit based on need. There are limits to an eligible household’s income and assets.
a. Income.
i. Can I get food stamps if I'm working?
Yes, you may be eligible to receive food stamp benefits if you earn below the income eligibility limit. Income limits vary depending on the number of persons in your household and their ages. Check with the NAP for the current limits.
ii. Can I get food stamps if I’m not working?
Yes, but you will most likely be required to participate in a work or training program. In the CNMI, this means registering with the Division of Employment Services (Dept. of Labor and Immigration). There are some instances where you do not have to comply with the work registration requirement, such as if you are younger than 18, 55 or older, are a full-time student, have a disability, or are at least six-months pregnant.
b. Assets.
Households may have $2,000 in readily accessible resources, like a bank account. Households may have $3,000 if at least one person is age 55 or older. back to top
You have the right to a written notice if the NAP has decided to deny, terminate or lower the amount of your food stamps. The NAP notice must explain its decision. You have the right to challenge the decision by using the NAP’s grievance procedure.
a. For the grievance procedure, you have the right to request either an informal conference or fair hearing within 60 days of the food stamps denial, termination or decrease. Your request may be either oral or written. When you make your request, the NAP must provide you the grievance rules and procedure.
b. Notice of the conference or hearing is required and should explain what your grievance is about.
c. You may review your NAP file at a reasonable time before the hearing. The file must contain all the information that the NAP used in making its decision to deny, terminate or cut your food stamps.
d. A written order is required to issue within 5 business days of the hearing. The head of the NAP has 5 days after the hearing to review the order and make any changes. If this doesn’t happen, the order will become final. The order must be given to you within 5 days after it becomes final.
e. You have the right to continue to receive your food stamps during the grievance procedure.
f. The entire grievance procedure (from requesting a conference or hearing to receiving the NAP written decision) should take no longer than 60 days.
g. If you believe the final order is unfair, you can appeal it by filing a court action. back to top
You are responsible to report changes with the household's income, property, household members, or location of residence. If you don’t report these changes, the NAP may determine that you had been given too many food stamps in the past. If you owe a debt because of overissuance of food stamps, the NAP may try to collect payments from you, most likely by deducting a certain amount from your future monthly food stamp payments. If the NAP believes you were committing fraud by not reporting these changes, you may be disqualified from receiving food stamps for up to two years and be criminally liable. back to top
You have the right to ask for a hearing if your caseworker threatens you, does not follow the rules or tells you to do things that do not follow the rules, violates your privacy or does not treat you with dignity and respect. If this happens, you can file a grievance with the NAP to challenge the case worker’s improper or coercive behavior. back to top
