The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is suspending a program that lets prescreened nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) visit the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) without a visa. The suspension of the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP) takes effect at 2 pm EDT on October 30, 2026, which is 4 am on October 31 in the CNMI. That timing comes from a Federal Register notice and a US Customs and Border Protection bulletin reported by Marianas Variety.
Existing travel authorizations will be canceled, and Chinese visitors will need a US visa to travel to the islands. PRC nationals already admitted under the program may stay through their authorized period. The notice does not restore the parole policy that EVS-TAP replaced on February 20, 2025.
Why DHS says it acted
“DHS judges that PRC nationals are almost certainly exploiting EVS-TAP,” the notice states. It adds that “this volume of visa-exempt entries presents unacceptable security and law enforcement risks.” DHS cited possible espionage near military sites in the CNMI and Guam, birth tourism, and past casino-related money laundering and labor abuses. It also pointed to two cases in which PRC nationals were sentenced for smuggling other Chinese nationals from the CNMI to Guam. More than 3,000 PRC nationals used the program in fiscal year 2025, according to the notice.
The notice is signed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. In January 2026, while still a senator, Mullin joined Senators Rick Scott (R) and Jim Banks (R) in urging DHS and the US Department of the Interior to revoke EVS-TAP. In March, 34 US House members made a similar request.
What it means for the islands
Tourism accounts for more than two-thirds of the CNMI’s economy, according to a 2025 economic study cited by Radio Free Asia. Chinese visitors were once the islands’ largest market: 185,526 of the 487,008 visitors in 2019. They fell to 10,764 in fiscal year 2025, after EVS-TAP processing was halted early in the current administration.
Total arrivals dropped 32% in fiscal year 2025, to 160,640, according to the Marianas Visitors Authority. The authority said, “The stability of EVS-TAP is seen by many stakeholders as essential to the full revival of the market.” The islands’ economy has also been strained by Super Typhoon Sinlaku and two more typhoons since.
EVS-TAP was a CNMI-only part of the broader Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program. That program was created under federal law in 2009 and lets visitors from 12 countries, including Japan and South Korea, stay up to 45 days without a visa. EVS-TAP allowed Chinese visitors 14 days and barred them from traveling on to Guam or the US mainland.
On birth tourism, local data cited by the CNMI’s delegate shows a sharp decline. The Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation recorded 574 births to Chinese tourists in 2018 and 55 in 2024.
Local leaders respond
Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds (R) said the program is “suspended, not terminated.” “Our tourism industry is already facing tremendous challenges,” she said, warning that “a prolonged disruption would have serious consequences for our businesses, workers and families.”
In an interview with Marianas Press, King-Hinds said she woke at 3 am to the DHS notice. She called the program “a critical lifeline for our tourism industry.” She said she spoke with US House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, who she said was “incredibly disappointed” that the committee, which oversees the program, had not been informed. She also said Speaker Mike Johnson was making calls on the CNMI’s behalf.
King-Hinds said she told Mullin the islands are down to about 16 flights a week, and that the lack of notice leaves airlines, hotels, and small businesses “in a lurch.” She said DHS has “not fully laid out” its concerns, and that her office is building a business case for the White House to lift the suspension.
She also asked Mullin to help secure relief for the CNMI government and public schools in the continuing resolution Congress must take up in December. She said he agreed and committed to visiting the islands after the election with the US Secretary of Commerce.
The interview took place on the first day of early voting. King-Hinds faces Galvin Sablan Deleon Guerrero (I) in the November 3 delegate race. A statement from Deleon Guerrero, read during the interview, said the suspension “reflects the ineffective congressional leadership that has left our islands increasingly vulnerable to the decisions made in Washington.” King-Hinds responded that “it’s political season.” She argued that as a Republican, she is better positioned than a non-Republican to work with the White House.
Governor David M. Apatang (I) has told Congress that the CNMI government “does not support any action that would eliminate or materially weaken the program without a workable replacement.” He called it “a necessary federal tool that can help sustain a U.S. community in the Western Pacific.”
DHS said it will review EVS-TAP but announced no date for reinstatement.
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