Working in the Northern Mariana Islands as a French National: CW-1 Status, Pay, Territorial Tax and Contributions

France Diplomatie is clear for the United States: ESTA, valid for 2 years for stays of 90 days at most, allows neither work, paid or unpaid, nor study, and a visa is required beyond 90 days. Overstaying the authorised period leads to removal and, generally, an entry ban of several years. The Guam and Northern Mariana Islands visa waiver programme (45 days) does not open any right to work either, and France is not on its list of nationalities.

To work in the Northern Mariana Islands, the specific status is the CW-1, reserved for transitional workers of the Commonwealth. According to USCIS, the worker must be named in a petition filed by a legitimate CNMI employer, be admissible (or benefit from a waiver) and not be eligible for another US employment status. Their spouse and unmarried children under 18 can apply for CW-2 status, which does not authorise work. CW-1 and CW-2 statuses are valid only in the CNMI: staying, working or residing elsewhere in the United States, including Guam, requires a suitable visa or waiver, except direct transit through Guam to a foreign country, which USCIS allows without loss of status.

The US Department of Labor specifies that the employer must obtain a temporary labour certification (TLC) before filing the petition with DHS. The steps are as follows: request for a prevailing wage determination (form ETA-9141C) through the FLAG electronic platform, prior recruitment of American workers, then filing of the certification application (form ETA-9142C, appendices and wage determination). Every file is submitted electronically and FLAG accounts are personal.

The CNMI Department of Labor runs the job advertisement system where the employer publishes the offer: it must remain online for 21 consecutive calendar days, describe the duties, minimum requirements, hours and start and end dates, and offer American workers at least the benefits, wages and conditions offered to CW-1 workers. The post is full-time, or at least 35 hours a week, pay is made at least every two weeks, and the employer must accept any available and qualified American applicant, including a permanent resident. The certification decision rests with the US Department of Labor’s certifying officer, and not with the CNMI Department of Labor. False information can lead to a refusal, assisted recruitment or debarment of up to five years per violation.

Once certification is obtained, the employer files form I-129CW with USCIS, which rejects any file without approved certification. The employer must participate in E-Verify and file form I-129CWR every six months. The employee therefore has no individual application step: the petition goes through the employer. The CNMI Department of Labor can be reached on +1 670 664 3196.

The number of workers who can receive CW-1 status is capped each federal fiscal year (1 October to 30 September). USCIS publishes the following cap: 9,000 for fiscal year 2025, 8,000 for 2026, 7,000 for 2027, 6,000 for 2028 and 5,000 for 2029. The cap applies to the number of people and not petitions, and USCIS posts an alert on its site when it is reached: the situation for the current fiscal year should be checked on these alerts.

In general, CW status is valid for up to one year and can be extended for a total of three years. After three consecutive validity periods, the worker can in principle no longer receive CW-1 status without having spent at least 30 consecutive days outside the United States, CNMI included, before a new petition is filed; long-term workers, admitted or granted status every year from 2015 to 2018, are not subject to this requirement and can receive validity of up to three years. USCIS indicates that the programme is scheduled to end on 31 December 2029, the transition period having begun on 28 November 2009. A work project in the Northern Mariana Islands is therefore a time-limited project, to be planned with the employer.

The US Department of Labor gives, for the Northern Mariana Islands, a basic minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, and the CNMI Department of Labor confirms that the federal minimum wage applies to the Commonwealth, with a 50% premium for overtime beyond 40 hours a week for covered and non-exempt employees. For a CW-1 worker, the employer must pay at least the highest of the prevailing wage for the post, the federal minimum wage and the CNMI minimum wage.

The prevailing wage is determined post by post by the US Department of Labor, from the approved CNMI wage survey and, where they apply, Bureau of Labor Statistics employment and wage data. This data is updated every July: the new data applies to determinations issued until the next update. The official sources consulted do not publish an average wage by occupation for the Northern Mariana Islands: the wage level of a post should be requested from the employer, who must hold the corresponding determination. The table below summarises the benchmarks of CW-1 status.

Income tax. The IRS indicates that people with income in the CNMI generally file a single return, either with the CNMI or with the United States, depending on their resident status. Bona fide residents of the CNMI, whether citizens, permanent residents or non-US-resident aliens, file their return with the CNMI on their worldwide income and, if they file it and pay in full, generally have no federal return to file, apart from self-employment tax. Bona fide resident status requires three tests: presence (at least 183 days in the year or one of the alternatives provided), tax home and closer connection to the territory. A nonresident alien who is not a bona fide resident files a CNMI return on their CNMI-source income only, salaries received for services performed in the CNMI being such income, and a 1040-NR return in the United States for their US-source income. The CNMI Department of Finance’s Division of Revenue and Taxation informs taxpayers (+1 670 664 1040, revtaxinfo@dof.gov.mp) and reminds employers that wage reporting forms are to be filed before 31 January.

Tax treaty. The France-US treaty defines in its article 3 the term “United States” without Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam or any other territory or possession, and does not name the Northern Mariana Islands: the rules provided for US residents therefore do not apply as a matter of principle to a CNMI employee. On the French side, the tax administration defines tax residence by the home or main place of stay, the main professional activity and the centre of economic interests, a single criterion being enough, and recommends systematically contacting the local tax administration. Validation by a French-American tax adviser should precede departure.

Social contributions. The territorial scope of the France-US agreement, as described by CLEISS (the French centre for European and international social security liaison) and as repeated by the text of the agreement, does not name the Northern Mariana Islands. For an employee sent by their French employer to a country with no applicable agreement, CLEISS describes a secondment of 3 years renewable once, which maintains French affiliation while leaving the contributions of the country of activity due where its scheme is compulsory. The pages consulted do not describe social security deductions from wages in the CNMI: the employer specifies them, and Urssaf (the French social security contributions collection body, international mobility department) and CLEISS decide the applicable scheme before departure. See seconded or expatriated.

The sources consulted describe no immigration status for a self-employed worker in the CNMI: the CW-1 requires a petition from an employer in the territory. The IRS specifies that a self-employed CNMI resident, with income from an activity carried out in the CNMI, files form 1040-SS with the United States to report that income and, where applicable, pay self-employment tax, while the rest of their income comes under the CNMI return.

For remote working, the official sources consulted describe no regime specific to the Northern Mariana Islands. The principle stated by France Diplomatie remains: the holder of an ESTA may carry out no professional activity, paid or unpaid, during their stay. A French national who wishes to work remotely for a French employer from the CNMI should check their situation with USCIS and CBP before leaving. See also digital nomad insurance.

Wages and prices are expressed in US dollars. Bureau of Economic Analysis statistics show GDP very sensitive to visitor spending, with strong variations from one year to the next. The BEA links the variations in services exports to those in visitor spending and casino receipts. The BEA specifies that, for lack of funding from the Office of Insular Affairs, it is suspending the production of CNMI GDP statistics and that the series already published remain available.

These figures describe an economy that is very sensitive to visitor flows, public spending and reconstruction after typhoons. The announced fall in the CW-1 cap until the end of the programme scheduled for 31 December 2029 also conditions the use of foreign labour. The updated macroeconomic benchmarks appear in the block above; see also living in the Northern Mariana Islands and the healthcare system in the Northern Mariana Islands.

The carte Vitale has no effect on site: the France-US agreement coordinates neither sickness nor maternity. The local employee generally goes through their employer’s insurance, whose matters come under the CNMI Department of Commerce according to CMS; the seconded employee keeps, subject to confirmation of the applicable scheme, French health insurance and deals with their fund using form S 3125c. CLEISS invites people to check top-up health insurance, as costs in the United States can exceed those in France. The detail is in the page healthcare reimbursement in the Northern Mariana Islands. Expavy compares international health cover for employees and the self-employed.