Summary: On October 27, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security published a Federal Register notice suspending the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP). The program let prescreened nationals of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) visit the CNMI without a visa. The suspension takes effect at 2:00 p.m. EDT on October 30, 2026.
What happened
The notice, issued through U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), announces the Secretary of Homeland Security’s decision that there is “good cause” to suspend EVS-TAP while DHS, in consultation with the Secretaries of State and the Interior, evaluates the program. DHS relies on section 212(l)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and its regulations at 8 CFR 212.1(r), which allow the Secretary to suspend the program for reasons including national security, law enforcement and immigration enforcement.
EVS-TAP was created by a 2024 interim final rule as a restricted part of the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program and began operating on February 20, 2025. Under the program, approved PRC travelers received a one-year travel authorization, could enter only the CNMI (not Guam or the U.S. mainland), and were generally limited to stays of up to 14 days per visit. According to the notice, more than 3,000 PRC nationals used EVS-TAP to enter the CNMI in fiscal year 2025.
DHS states several reasons for the suspension, including concerns about unauthorized onward travel from the CNMI to Guam, activity near sensitive military installations, possible espionage, “birth tourism,” and past PRC-linked criminal activity in the CNMI. The notice also says the Secretary considered the reliance interests of CNMI businesses and travelers.
Who is affected
- PRC nationals who planned to apply for EVS-TAP travel authorization.
- PRC nationals who already hold an approved EVS-TAP travel authorization; the notice says the suspension applies to them as well as to new applicants.
- PRC nationals already admitted under EVS-TAP and lawfully present in the CNMI on the effective date. The notice says they may remain for their current authorized period of stay, but will need a visa for any future travel to the CNMI.
The notice concerns only EVS-TAP for PRC nationals. It does not describe changes to the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program for other countries or to the separate U.S. Visa Waiver Program (ESTA).
What it means
Starting October 30, 2026, PRC nationals who want to visit the CNMI will generally need a nonimmigrant visa obtained through a U.S. embassy or consulate, as visitors to other parts of the United States do. DHS describes the action as a suspension while it evaluates the program, not a permanent end, and the notice does not say how long the evaluation will take or whether the program will return. As with other immigration policy changes, the suspension could be challenged in court or modified later.
Source: Federal Register (DHS/CBP) – Suspension of the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP), FR Doc. 2026-21880, 91 FR 67595 (published October 27, 2026)
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