The October 30 suspension covers new applicants and travellers already approved. Visitors already in the US territory may finish their authorised stays, but future visits will require a visa unless another lawful exception applies.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will suspend a visa-free travel programme for Chinese nationals visiting the Northern Mariana Islands at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on October 30. The decision, detailed by Fox News, applies to both new applicants and travellers already approved for future visits.
The Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP) was created in 2024 and took effect in 2025. It allowed prescreened Chinese nationals to visit the US territory for up to 14 days without a visa. DHS said more than 3,000 Chinese nationals used it in fiscal year 2025.
Under the programme, US Customs and Border Protection screened travellers, but they did not need to obtain a visa from a US consulate. Once the suspension takes effect, an existing programme approval will no longer allow a future visit.
Visitors already in the Northern Mariana Islands under EVS-TAP may complete their authorised stays. They will need a visa for future visits unless another lawful exception applies.
DHS said the programme could facilitate birth tourism, espionage and illegal onward travel to nearby Guam. Birth tourism means travelling to the United States primarily to give birth so the child can become an American citizen. The department said the practice can strain the islands’ medical system, but its notice supplied no count of births linked to EVS-TAP travellers.
The department also warned that visa-free travel could be exploited to gather intelligence near US military facilities. Guam hosts several military installations.
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The suspension is separate from the US State Department’s visitor-visa revocations linked to suspected birth tourism. The department said a task force launched on August 12 had revoked more than 750 such visas by late August. Those revocations concerned the visitor-visa process, not EVS-TAP.
DHS said the suspension will remain in place while it evaluates the programme with the secretaries of state and the interior.
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