The United States has moved to close a visa-free entry route for Chinese nationals to the Northern Mariana Islands, citing concerns that the programme could be exploited for birth tourism, espionage and unauthorised travel to Guam, a strategically important US military hub in the Pacific.
The suspension, announced by the Department of Homeland Security under President Donald Trump’s administration, ends a policy introduced in 2024 under former President Joe Biden that allowed pre-screened Chinese visitors to stay in the US territory for up to 14 days without obtaining visas through American consulates.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced the decision, which the department said would take effect at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on October 30, 2026.
The restriction will cover both new applicants and Chinese nationals who had already received approval under the programme, effectively shutting down the existing visa-free travel arrangement.
A key concern raised by the department is the possibility that visitors could exploit the scheme for birth tourism, a practice in which foreign nationals travel to another country to give birth, potentially securing citizenship for their children under applicable birthright citizenship laws.
Security officials also cited the risk of espionage and the possibility that travellers could use the Northern Mariana Islands as a route for unauthorised movement to Guam, which hosts critical American military installations and occupies a significant position in US defence strategy in the Indo-Pacific.
More than 3,000 Chinese nationals entered the Northern Mariana Islands through the programme in the 2025 fiscal year, underscoring the scale of the travel arrangement before the administration moved to terminate it.
The decision places renewed emphasis on the intersection of immigration controls and national security as Washington continues to scrutinise travel arrangements involving Chinese nationals and strategically sensitive American territories.
The Northern Mariana Islands, a US commonwealth in the western Pacific, has operated under a distinct immigration framework that permitted eligible Chinese visitors to enter for short stays without the standard US visa process.
The suspension marks a significant shift in that arrangement, with prospective Chinese visitors now facing the consequences of the programme’s termination rather than relying on the special 14-day entry provision.
The move comes amid broader US concerns about protecting sensitive military locations and preventing immigration provisions from being used for purposes beyond legitimate tourism.
However, the department’s announcement, as reported, did not provide details of specific espionage incidents linked to the programme or quantify the extent of alleged birth tourism associated with it.
