US suspends visa-free travel programme for Chinese nationals to Northern Mariana Islands

The Trump administration is suspending a programme that allowed prescreened Chinese nationals to visit the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa citing risks of espionage near US military bases illegal onward travel to Guam and birth tourismThe suspension of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands CNMI Economic Vitality and Security Travel Authorization Program EVSTAP takes effect at 2 pm EDT on October 30 according to a Department of Homeland Security notice in the Federal Register signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne MullinIt applies both to new applicants and to ldquopreviously approved travelers with an existing EVSTAP travel authorizationrdquo Chinese nationals already in the CNMI under the programme may stay for their authorised period but ldquowill need to obtain a visa for any future travelrdquoThe notice said that in fiscal year 2025 ldquomore than 3000 PRC nationals utilized EVSTAP to enter the CNMIrdquo These travellers were vetted by US Customs and Border Protection ldquoinstead of by a State Department consular officerrdquo ldquoDHS judges that PRC nationals are almost certainly exploiting EVSTAPrdquo the notice said adding that the volume of visaexempt entries ldquopresents unacceptable security and law enforcement risksrdquoThe department said the programme ldquomay be exploited to facilitate PRC espionage and intelligence collection directed against sensitive US defense infrastructure in the regionrdquo It noted that the Department of War is restoring the Tinian Air Base while neighbouring Guam hosts several military installations ldquocritical to homeland defenserdquoAlthough EVSTAP barred Chinese visitors from going beyond the CNMI the notice said they ldquohave the ability to illegally travel from the CNMI to Guam aboard smuggling vesselsrdquo It cited two federal sentencings in March 2024 and February 2025 of Chinese nationals who smuggled nine and seven other Chinese nationals from the CNMI to Guam Most of them ldquowere later encountered in or near sensitive military installationsrdquo it saidOn birth tourism the notice said ldquoWhile birth tourism has long been an issue in the CNMI the availability of visaexempt travel and reduced vetting under EVSTAP may lower barriers to this practicerdquo It added that birth tourism ldquomay also be utilized to facilitate longterm intelligence or espionage activitiesrdquo The notice did not give the number of births linked to the programmeDHS also pointed to the CNMIrsquos history of ldquoPRClinked criminal activityrdquo including money laundering and labour abuses tied to a Chineserun casino operation in SaipanThe programme created by a 2024 rule under the Biden administration took effect on February 20 2025 It let Chinese visitors stay up to 14 days with authorisations valid for one year China had been excluded from the wider GuamCNMI visa waiver programme since 2009 on ldquopolitical and security concernsrdquoDHS acknowledged that CNMI businesses dependent on Chinese tourism and prospective travellers may face losses but said the ldquoacute risksrdquo outweighed them Genuine visitors can still apply for a regular US visa The suspension does not restore an earlier parole policy for Chinese visitorsRepublican Senator Mike Lee welcomed the move ldquoAmerica is not a nursery for the CCP to steal citizenshiprdquo he wrote on X according to Fox News Senators Lee Rick Scott John Cornyn and Bill Cassidy had urged Mullin in April to end the programme the report said The move is part of the administrationrsquos broader push to tighten visa vetting and curb birth tourismThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever