Chinese nationals can no longer visit the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa after the Department of Homeland Security suspended the territory’s travel authorization program for them, citing espionage risks near U.S. military sites, smuggling to Guam and birth tourism.
The suspension of the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, known as EVS-TAP, took effect at 2 p.m. Eastern time on October 30, 2026, under a Federal Register notice published October 27 and signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
It covers new applicants and travelers who already held an approved authorization. Chinese nationals admitted under the program and present in the CNMI on October 30 may stay until their authorized period ends, but they need a visa for any future trip.
What EVS-TAP allowed
EVS-TAP began operating on February 20, 2025. It let prescreened nationals of the People’s Republic of China visit the CNMI, and only the CNMI, for up to 14 days per visit without a visa. Authorizations lasted one year, and holders could not travel on to Guam or the U.S. mainland.
The program replaced a ParoleDiscretionary, temporary permission for a person who may be inadmissible to enter or remain in the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit, set out in INA 212(d)(5). Parole is not an admission, and a paroled person is still treated as an applicant for admission.See it in the glossary policy dating to 2009, under which U.S. Customs and Border Protection could parole eligible Chinese visitors into the CNMI case by case. China has never been part of the broader Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program (VWP)A program that lets citizens or nationals of designated countries travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without a visa. Travelers need approval through the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) before boarding and must hold an e-passport. ESTA approval does not guarantee admission, because a CBP officer decides at the port of entry.See it in the glossary; DHS left it out in 2009 over political and security concerns. That regional program is separate from the main Visa Waiver Program and ESTA.
More than 3,000 Chinese nationals used EVS-TAP to enter the CNMI in fiscal year 2025, the notice says, citing CBP data.
Why DHS suspended the CNMI program
The notice gives three main reasons. The first is national security. DHS says the program could be used for espionage against U.S. defense sites in the region, pointing to the military’s work to restore the Tinian air base and to installations on Guam.
The second is onward smuggling. The notice cites two federal sentencings, in March 2024 and February 2025, of Chinese nationals who smuggled nine and seven others from the CNMI to Guam. Most of the people smuggled were later found in or near sensitive military installations, DHS says.
The third is birth tourism and organized crime. DHS says visa-free entry may lower the barriers to trips aimed at securing U.S. citizenship for children, and it points to past money laundering and labor abuses tied to a Chinese-run casino operation on Saipan.
What Chinese visitors to the CNMI need now
Chinese nationals who want to visit the CNMI for business or tourism must now get a regular Nonimmigrant visaA visa for a temporary stay for a specific purpose, such as study, tourism, or employment, for example F-1, B-2 or H-1B.See it in the glossary, usually a B-1/B-2 visitor visa, through a U.S. embassy or consulate. The process involves an application, fingerprints and, in most cases, an interview, much like a first-time visitor visa for the mainland. The notice states that the suspension does not bring back the old parole policy.
DHS calls the step a suspension, not a termination, while it reviews the program with the State and Interior departments. The notice acknowledges that CNMI businesses built plans around Chinese tourism but says bona fide visitors can still get visas and that the security risks outweigh those interests.