DHS OKs EVS-TAP interim final ruling

The U.S Department of Homeland Security has issued an interim final ruling on the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, or EVS-TAP, and has ruled in favor of its creation. The interim final ruling is effective September 2024 to allow time for public comments.

After weeks of uncertainty about the CNMI’s economic state following efforts by U.S. lawmakers for DHS to revoke the CNMI’s discretionary parole program that allowed it to let Chinese tourists enter the CNMI en masse, DHS finally issued a ruling that paves the way to create the EVS-TAP, providing hope for the CNMI’s tourism industry’s stability.

The EVS-TAP would essentially allow visa-free travel for pre-screened travelers from China to the CNMI, much like the current discretionary parole program in place.

According to the interim final ruling issued yesterday, DHS amends its regulations to require persons intending to travel to the CNMI under the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program to submit Form I-736 electronically in advance of travel and receive an electronic travel authorization prior to boarding a flight to Guam or the CNMI.

Under the current visa waiver program regulations, a paper U.S. Customs and Border Protection Form I-736 is presented to Customs and Border Protection upon arrival.

This rule also establishes the EVS-TAP as a restricted sub-program of the G–CNMI VWP.

DHS notes that the program is being established based on recommendations pursuant to consultations between the United States and the CNMI under Section 902 of the Covenant to establish the CNMI in Political Union with the United States of America.

“Once implemented, the CNMI EVS-TAP will allow pre-screened nationals of the People’s Republic of China to travel to the CNMI without a visa under specified conditions,” DHS stated in its order.

U.S. lawmakers previously wrote Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about the entry of nationals from the People’s Republic of China into the CNMI through the discretionary parole program. That letter called for the program’s abolition.

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce, the Hotel Association for the NMI, and CNMI lawmakers have pushed for the establishment of the EVS-TAP in response to the U.S. lawmakers’ efforts.

The CNMI EVS-TAP was first proposed in 2019 and aims to enhance security measures while ensuring the orderly entry of PRC nationals for tourism purposes.

The proposed EVS-TAP program involves electronic screening, a maximum 14-day stay, and additional security measures for PRC nationals.