CNMI Visa-Free Travel for Chinese Visitors Suspended

The Department of Homeland Security is suspending Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) visa-free travel for Chinese nationals, closing the program that let prescreened visitors from the People’s Republic of China fly to Saipan, Tinian and Rota without a U.S. visa. A notice signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, set for Federal Register publication on Oct. 27, suspends the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, known as EVS-TAP, and every authorization now active under it, starting at 2 p.m. Eastern three days after publication, which would be Oct. 30.

After that, a Chinese tourist bound for the Northern Mariana Islands needs the same B-1/B-2 visitor visa required to visit Honolulu. DHS set no end date, saying it is evaluating the program with the secretaries of State and the Interior, and it did not revive the parole arrangement that EVS-TAP replaced in February 2025. Chinese visitors already on the islands may finish their authorized stay. The notice covers only EVS-TAP; it does not mention Hong Kong passport holders, who travel under the broader Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program.

For years, the Northern Mariana Islands were the only U.S. soil Chinese tourists could visit without a U.S. visa. A parole arrangement allowed visa-free entry starting in 2009, and EVS-TAP replaced it in 2025.
Saipan is only about four to five hours by air from Shanghai, which makes a short beach getaway easy to plan. Visitors come for white-sand beaches, diving and snorkeling at spots like Managaha Island, golf, and destination weddings. Chinese investors built resorts and a casino aimed at this market, further tying the islands’ economy to China. Because a child born there is a U.S. citizen, some visitors also came to give birth, which is the practice that drew Washington’s scrutiny.

A risk judgment, not a count of abuse

Section 212(l)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act lets the secretary suspend visa-free admission to Guam and the CNMI for a country’s nationals on a finding of good cause or security risk. DHS writes that it “judges that PRC nationals are almost certainly exploiting EVS-TAP,” citing espionage risk near military sites on Tinian and Guam, boat smuggling to Guam, birth tourism and financial crime tied to the islands’ former casino industry. Its examples are two smuggling convictions, from March 2024 and February 2025.

The notice’s only usage figure is that more than 3,000 PRC nationals entered under EVS-TAP in fiscal 2025, based on CBP entry-exit data. It does not say how many overstayed, sought asylum or gave birth. DHS concedes island businesses will lose money but says the standard does not require weighing that against security. Because the statute leaves the call to the secretary, and travelers abroad have little ability to challenge admission rules in court, the real contest is political.

That contest predates Mullin’s move to DHS. In January, then-Sen. Mullin joined Sens. Rick Scott and Jim Banks in a letter asking DHS to require visas for Chinese visitors to the CNMI and to drop Hong Kong from the waiver program, citing reports that births to visiting Chinese mothers rose from fewer than 10 in 2009 to nearly 600 by 2018. Four Republican senators renewed the request in April. The notice acts on the first ask, not the second. CNMI Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds has countered, in a letter reported by the Marianas Variety, that the incidents lawmakers cited involved visitors admitted under the old parole system, not EVS-TAP, and that tourist births fell 19 percent between 2024 and 2025 after the program began.

China had just become the top market again

The Marianas Visitors Authority, the CNMI’s tourism agency, counted 160,640 arrivals in fiscal 2025, down 32 percent from the year before. It has said China supplied about 44 percent of visitors before COVID-19 and that recovery depended on EVS-TAP continuing without interruption. The latest monthly data show that recovery under way.

Market	August 2026	August 2025
China	1,605	594
South Korea	1,538	8,364
Japan	288	919
All markets	5,001	12,690

CNMI visitor arrivals by market. Source: Marianas Visitors Authority, Oct. 14, 2026 release.

China accounted for about 32 percent of August arrivals, more than any other market, a calculation from MVA figures. The agency credited Hong Kong Airlines’ return to the Saipan route on July 12, after the carrier halted flights in 2025 during a pause in EVS-TAP processing. South Korea, the other anchor market, is a Visa Waiver Program country, though Koreans who do need visas have seen refusal rates jump.

What ending CNMI visa-free travel changes for travelers

For a Chinese family, an online authorization becomes a DS-160, a fee and a consular interview. Since 2020, State Department rules have told officers to refuse visitor visas sought mainly to give birth in the United States, and the department has made birth tourism a stated priority. With visitor visa appointments running many months out at some posts, a short package holiday rarely survives the process. The likely result is a steep drop in Chinese leisure travel, though anyone already holding a valid U.S. visitor visa can still go.

Because EVS-TAP was created by a 2024 interim final rule, ending it for good would most likely require amending 8 CFR 212.1 through rulemaking, with a public comment period, although nothing in the notice stops DHS from leaving the suspension in place indefinitely. Two signals to watch are whether DHS turns to Hong Kong’s eligibility next and whether Hong Kong Airlines trims Saipan service again, which would show up in the islands’ arrival figures before Washington finishes its review.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice.

Sources

Vasanth Vaidyanathan, Esq.

Administrator

Vasanth Vaidyanathan is an immigration attorney with over 20 years of experience focused exclusively on U.S. immigration and nationality law. He holds a LL.M. from California Western School of Law, San Deigo and advises individuals and businesses on employment and family-based immigration matters, including H-1B, PERM, EB categories, and adjustment of status. He has also been a featured speaker at immigration seminars across the U.S. To reach Vasanth visit: https://www.vnathan.com/

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