US ends visa-free travel for Chinese visitors to Northern Mariana Islands
The US will end visa-free visits by Chinese travelers to the Northern Mariana Islands on Friday, a federal notice shows. Homeland Security says the program let in birth tourism and security risks. Local tourism groups warn the move could hurt the islands, NMI News Service reports.
Homeland Security is ending a program that let screened Chinese visitors go to the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa, a Federal Register notice shows. The change takes effect at 2 pm EDT Friday, October 30. The notice was made public Monday and printed Tuesday. DHS put out a press release on it Thursday.
Under the program, Chinese nationals could stay up to 14 days with no visa and no consular interview, DHS says. They now must apply for a B-1 or B-2 visa at a US embassy or consulate. DHS says it is no longer taking new requests and will cancel old travel approvals. People already admitted may stay through their current approved stay, the notice says.
In the notice, DHS says more than 3,000 Chinese nationals entered under the program in fiscal 2025. It says they are "almost certainly exploiting" it. It cites past cases of travel on to other places and activity near military sites. "Visa-free travel to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands opens the door to Chinese birth tourism and national security threats," DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the release. "American citizenship is not a travel perk."
The South China Morning Post reports the move comes amid allegations of birth tourism and people smuggling in the territory. Nikkei Asia reports the US cited security, spying and immigration concerns. The US is building up its military in the western Pacific, Nikkei Asia reports.
Island tourism and business groups urged federal officials to weigh the economic harm, NMI News Service reports. "For the Marianas tourism industry, this is devastating," said Ivan Quichocho, chairman of the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Marianas Visitors Authority says visitors from China made up more than 20% of arrivals in fiscal 2026, the outlet reports. The groups also questioned DHS's case. Quichocho said the notice relies on incidents from before the program began.
What we know: Visa-free travel for Chinese visitors to the islands ends Friday afternoon.
What we don't: Whether DHS will bring back a visa-free option after its review.
Where outlets agree The Federal Register notice and reports by the South China Morning Post, Nikkei Asia and NMI News Service agree the US is suspending visa-free travel for Chinese visitors to the Northern Mariana Islands.
Where they differ DHS says Chinese nationals are "almost certainly exploiting" the program, while NMI News Service reports the islands' hotel association chairman says the notice relies on incidents from before the program began.