DHS Ends Visa-Free Entry for Chinese Visitors to a U.S. Territory Near Military Bases, Saying They're 'Almost Certainly Exploiting' It

The Trump administration is shutting a Biden-era side door that let Chinese nationals fly into a U.S. territory without a visa, and the Department of Homeland Security isn't mincing words about why.

"DHS judges that PRC nationals are almost certainly exploiting EVS-TAP," Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin's department wrote in a notice filed Monday with the Federal Register. PRC is the People's Republic of China. EVS-TAP is the program that let prescreened Chinese travelers visit the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a chain of U.S. islands next to Guam, for up to 14 days with no visa.

The suspension takes effect Oct. 30. It covers new applicants and cancels every approval already issued. Chinese nationals already on the islands under the program can finish their stay, but any future trip will need a regular visa, with fingerprints and a consular interview.

Why DHS says it had to go

The notice lists three threats.

Spying near military bases. The islands sit in the middle of America's Pacific defense line. The military is restoring the Tinian air base there, and Guam, a short boat ride south, hosts several major installations. DHS warned the program "may be exploited to facilitate PRC espionage and intelligence collection directed against sensitive U.S. defense infrastructure in the region."

Smuggling to Guam. Program travelers were barred from going on to Guam or the mainland. That didn't stop people. DHS cited two federal cases, from 2024 and 2025, in which Chinese nationals were convicted of running boatloads of other Chinese nationals from the islands to Guam. "Most of these PRC nationals were later encountered in or near sensitive military installations," the notice says.

Birth tourism. "While birth tourism has long been an issue in the CNMI, the availability of visa-exempt travel and reduced vetting under EVS-TAP may lower barriers to this practice," DHS wrote. A baby born on the islands is a U.S. citizen under current law. DHS added that birth tourism "may also be utilized to facilitate long-term intelligence or espionage activities." The notice did not say how many births it tied to the program.

DHS also pointed to the islands' history with Chinese-linked money. A temporary casino run by a Chinese company in a former Saipan shopping mall reported more than $2 billion a month in VIP bets, "rivaling Macau," and the operating company's executives were later indicted on federal racketeering charges. The notice says people tied to the old operators have since bought the unfinished permanent casino and restarted construction.

How the door opened

When Congress created a visa waiver for Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands in 2008, DHS kept Chinese nationals out of it, citing "political and security concerns." Instead, border officers let many in case by case to protect the islands' tourism business.

In January 2024, a Biden-administration rule turned that into a formal no-visa program for China alone. It launched Feb. 20, 2025. In fiscal year 2025, more than 3,000 Chinese nationals used it, vetted by Customs and Border Protection instead of a State Department consular officer. DHS now calls that volume an "unacceptable" security and law enforcement risk.

Senators sounded the alarm in April

On April 22, Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida, John Cornyn of Texas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana wrote to Mullin urging him to end it. "Continuing the Biden-era policy of allowing PRC citizens unchecked access to CNMI threatens America's national security and encourages illegal drug trafficking and birth tourism," they wrote, calling the program "a benefit that should not be afforded to a recalcitrant country like Communist China."

Lee celebrated Monday's decision on X: "America is not a nursery for the CCP to steal citizenship."

What the islands lose

DHS acknowledged that some island businesses built plans around Chinese tourists and that travelers may lose money. Its answer: honest visitors can still apply for a visa like nearly everyone else, and the security risks "outweigh any countervailing personal or economic interests."

The suspension holds while DHS reviews the program with the State and Interior Departments. It does not bring back the old case-by-case entry policy, so for now, a Chinese national who wants to visit America's Pacific islands goes through the same front door as other foreign visitors.