U.S. Suspends Visa-Free Travel Program for Chinese Nationals to Northern Mariana Islands
The Trump administration has suspended the visa-free travel program for Chinese nationals visiting the Northern Mariana Islands. This decision follows warnings from Republican lawmakers about potential birth tourism and national security concerns. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin ended a program, started during the Biden administration, which allowed prescreened Chinese nationals to visit for up to 14 days without a visa.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in announcing the suspension, expressed concerns about birth tourism, espionage, and illegal travel to Guam, an important U.S. military hub.
The U.S. territory of Guam is an attractive target for Chinese migrants given its proximity to the Northern Mariana Islands.
Senators Mike Lee, Rick Scott, John Cornyn, and Bill Cassidy had urged Mullin to terminate the program due to its encouragement of birth tourism and associated national security risks. Senator Lee praised the decision in a social media post, criticizing the Chinese Communist Party’s perceived exploitation of U.S. citizenship laws.
Rep. Chip Roy, supported by Rep. Tom Tiffany, also advocated for ending the program, citing it as a threat. Birth tourism occurs when people travel to the U.S. primarily for childbirth, granting U.S. citizenship to their child, often disguising the trip’s purpose when applying for a visa.
The program at the center of this issue began in 2024 and saw over 3,000 Chinese nationals enter the Northern Mariana Islands in fiscal year 2025. These visitors were screened by Customs and Border Protection but bypassed obtaining a traditional visa through a U.S. consulate.
The suspension, effective from 2 p.m. EDT on October 30, affects both new and pre-approved applicants. Individuals currently in the territory can complete their authorized stay but will need a visa for future visits unless exempted by other lawful means. DHS will evaluate the program in collaboration with the Department of State and the Department of the Interior.
DHS raised concerns about the program making birth tourism easier and reported that it might challenge the islands’ medical infrastructure. There was no specific data provided regarding births linked to the visa-exempt entries, known as the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP).
Further fears include potential use of visa-free travel for intelligence gathering near military sites like Tinian Air Base on the Northern Mariana Islands and numerous facilities on Guam. Though the program didn’t allow travel to Guam or the U.S. mainland, DHS cited previous incidents involving Chinese nationals smuggled by boat from the Northern Mariana Islands to Guam. These instances exposed vulnerabilities in earlier travel policies, highlighting gaps the current suspension aims to address.
This decision forms part of a broader Trump administration effort to curtail birth tourism. A State Department task force has already revoked over 750 visas connected to suspected birth tourism by late August. Efforts are ongoing to identify and mitigate travel patterns associated with such networks.
The Northern Mariana Islands program’s suspension is independent of the State Department’s actions targeting visitor visas associated with the revoked cases.