- DHS suspended visa-free entry for Chinese nationals traveling to the Northern Mariana Islands, citing security and birth tourism concerns.
- Chinese travelers must now apply for a U.S. visa, including consular screening and an in-person interview.
- The suspension leaves the 12 other program participants eligible for Guam-CNMI visa-waiver travel of up to 45 days.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has suspended visa-free entry for Chinese nationals traveling to the Northern Mariana Islands, citing espionage and birth tourism concerns.
The decision closes a China-specific route that allowed visitors to reach the U.S. territory without obtaining a standard U.S. visa. Chinese nationals planning trips to Saipan, Tinian or Rota must now use the U.S. consular visa process, including an in-person interview and federal vetting.
The suspension applies to the CNMI’s electronic authorization pathway and its earlier discretionary parole route for Chinese passport holders. It does not end the broader Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program for its 12 other designated countries and geographic areas.
The change reverses an arrangement that remained in place as recently as September 1, 2025. The China-specific channel had developed through several entry mechanisms since the Guam-CNMI program began operating in November 2009.
Congress extended U.S. immigration law to the CNMI through Section 702 of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008. The law authorized the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which allows visitors from designated countries and geographic areas to enter Guam and the CNMI for business or pleasure for up to 45 days without a nonimmigrant visa.
China was not included when the program began. The Department of Homeland Security cited political, security and law enforcement concerns, including high nonimmigrant visa refusal rates, in declining to add China and Russia. Chinese visitors later entered the CNMI through case-by-case parole and, eventually, a restricted electronic authorization program.
Under the earlier paper system, the Form I-736 warned: “The maximum stay for PRC nationals/citizens is 14 days.” The regulation also said the program “applies only to entry into Guam or the CNMI; entry to any other part of the United States pursuant to this regulation is prohibited.”
In January 2024, DHS issued an interim final rule requiring travelers under the Guam-CNMI program to submit Form I-736 electronically and obtain an electronic travel authorization before boarding. The rule also established the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, known as EVS-TAP, as a restricted sub-program for prescreened Chinese nationals traveling to the CNMI.
The electronic system replaced the paper form. From November 30, 2024, eligible travelers had to hold an approved electronic authorization before boarding flights to Guam or the CNMI. Carriers must deny boarding to travelers without a visa or the required authorization.
A notice published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the current parole policy for Chinese nationals seeking to enter the CNMI would be discontinued as the EVS-TAP requirements took effect. The notice described visa-free travel as limited to the CNMI and capped stays at 14 days.
The new suspension ends that China-specific route. Chinese passport holders can no longer rely on a Form I-736, discretionary parole or an EVS-TAP authorization for visa-free entry.
Applicants must instead seek the appropriate U.S. visa through an embassy or consulate. That process carries fees, interview requirements and the possibility of denial that the island pathway had bypassed.
Travelers who already hold a valid U.S. visa remain able to use the visa route, subject to applicable requirements. Chinese visitors with 10-year B1, B2 or B1/B2 visas must also maintain valid enrollment in the Electronic Visa Update System, or EVUS.
The suspension does not change the program for Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Visitors from those places continue to use the electronic authorization system, with stays of up to 45 days under the Guam-CNMI program.
The CNMI’s separate arrangement for Chinese visitors had been designed to support tourism and economic activity. Local officials had warned that excluding Chinese and Russian visitors increased economic uncertainty and affected investment in those markets.
Hotels, restaurants, tour operators and retailers in the islands relied on Chinese visitors, as did families and small businesses connected to tourism. The suspension removes the visa-free route, while the standard U.S. visa process adds an interview and consular screening before travel.
The federal government had built EVS-TAP as a restricted program, subject to change. Its electronic screening system checked applicants against law enforcement databases and sent carriers boarding decisions, while applicants received status updates such as approved, denied, canceled or pending.
That screening infrastructure followed the end of paper Form I-736 processing and the shift to advance electronic authorization. The current suspension now closes the China-specific channel that the system had administered, while leaving the wider Guam-CNMI program intact.
