‘A step closer to tourism recovery’

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce says the long-awaited establishment of the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program, or EVS-TAP, is a step in the right direction in terms of recovery for the CNMI’s tourism industry.

Chamber president Joseph Guerrero said in a news briefing yesterday that the creation of the EVS-TAP program, which is specific to travelers coming to the CNMI from the People’s Republic of China, is good news for the CNMI as it essentially has the same provisions as the discretionary parole program but with features that bolster national security.

“We want people who should not be here to not be allowed entry to the CNMI. The discretionary parole is authorization that the secretary of [the U.S. Department of] Homeland Security bestows upon Customs and Border Protection officers to admit people on a case-by-case basis, versus the CNMI EVS-TAP, which is a rule that becomes law that essentially allows CBP to conduct a pre-vetting of travelers before they arrive,” he said.

For the past few years, the CNMI has been exerting tremendous efforts to revive the tourism industry with the hope of bringing the CNMI’s arrival numbers back to the level before the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, geopolitical tensions hindering the return of the China market—which makes up nearly half of the CNMI’s tourist population pre-COVID—has slowed the recovery process.

DHS officially establishing the EVS-TAP program is a step in the right direction, said Guerrero.

Through the EVS-TAP, Guerrero said the CBP will do an even better job of protecting the CNMI’s borders, which plays well into the concerns of the community.

“We are all concerned about security and the safety of our country and our islands,” he said.

In addition, EVS-TAP will also benefit the CNMI and CBP economically, Guerrero said.

“Homeland Security identified four major benefits of this rule: the reduction in administrative costs to CBP; reduction in the number of inadmissibility cases; it improves national security; and most importantly the increase in travel potentially from the PRC,” he said.

Last week, DHS approved the interim final ruling establishing the EVS-TAP and amending the Guam/CNMI Visa Waiver Program. The program would essentially allow visa-free travel for pre-screened travelers from China to the CNMI.

According to the interim final ruling, DHS will 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. This rule also establishes the EVS-TAP as a restricted sub-program of the G–CNMI VWP.

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

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 Chamber, 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.