THE recently passed legislation that would lift the work visa cap for Guam and the CNMI would ease the labor shortage and boost the military buildup on island, according to David Cohen, former deputy assistant secretary of the Department of the Interior.

Cohen expects Guam to be flooded with workers from the Philippines and Japan once S. 2739 goes into effect.

S. 2739, which was passed by the U.S. Senate on April 10 and is awaiting President Bush's signature, contains a provision that would exempt Guam and the CNMI from national quota on all H visas through the end of 2014.

Such provision of the bill is aimed at allowing Guam to bring in foreign workers to pick up the thousands of jobs to be generated by the relocation of 8,000 Marines from Okinawa.

Cohen noted that Guam will attract workers from the Philippines, which produces "a large, well trained, English-speaking work force" and is only a three-hour flight from Guam.

"While the H cap exemption would almost certainly result in an influx of workers from the Philippines, it would also likely attract talent from other countries," Cohen writes in an article posted on the website of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, at which he is now a partner.

Japan would be another potential source of manpower. The Japanese government has pledged to subsidize 60 percent of the funding for the troops relocation to Guam.

Japanese companies are expected to get a significant amount of business from the $15 billion military relocation program.

"The exemption would enable these Japanese companies to bring in more of their own professionals and other workers than would otherwise have been possible," Cohen said.

"The exemption would also enable professionals and other employees from Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and many other countries to participate in the buildup and other activities in Guam and the CNMI," he added.

The military expansion plan for Guam --- the largest U.S. troop realignment project of its kind since the end of the Cold War --- would require between 12,000 to 20,000 workers to build a new military base, military housing and utilities from 2010 through 2014.

The nationwide annual cap on H-2B visas is currently set at 66,000.

"Without the cap exemption, it would be impossible for a small territory such as Guam to utilize such a large share of the entire nation's allocation of temporary nonagricultural workers," Cohen said.

"The legislation .... would help ensure that sufficient skilled and unskilled labor is available for Guam's planned military buildup and could open up numerous business opportunities in both Guam and the Northern Marianas," said Cohen, who drafted the original version of the bill which mainly targeted the federalization of the CNMI.

Cohen explained that while the cap exemption for H-2B visas has been the principal focus of Department of Defense planners, the exemption would also apply to H-1B visas for professional or specialty workers including engineers, architects, computer experts, health care professionals, professors and teachers, scientists, accountants, financial analysts and many other types of professionals.