‘US-China travel pact could help NMI’

A soon-to-be-signed group travel pact between the United States and China may help the CNMI’s bid for Chinese tourists once federal immigration laws apply to the Commonwealth.

But while the agreement will make it easier for Chinese tourists to travel to the United States, it will have no effect on U.S. visa requirements.

“Given the requirements for U.S. visitor visas, and depending on the countries included in the CNMI-Guam visa waiver program, the pending legislation could change access to the CNMI for visitors from some countries,” the U.S. Government Accountability Office said in its legal analysis of Senate bill 2739.

Access to the CNMI for Chinese, as well as Russian, tourists is one of the main reasons local businesses oppose the proposed federal takeover of local immigration. Both countries are emerging markets for the CNMI’s visitor industry.

Federalization is expected to affect the CNMI-China memorandum of understanding, which was signed after the Chinese government granted the much coveted “approved destination status” to the Northern Marianas.

According to GAO, that MOU may be replaced by a new one between the United States and China. The U.S. memorandum facilitates Chinese leisure group travel to the United States by complying with Chinese regulatory requirements for Chinese tourists traveling abroad. But Chinese tourists will still be required to obtain U.S. visas for travel to the United States.

Whether Chinese tourists could continue to come to the CNMI without U.S. visas would still depend on whether China was included in the CNMI-Guam visa waiver program provided in the federalization bill.

While China and Russia are currently not included in the CNMI’s entry permit waiver program, the CNMI allows applicants from these and other countries to apply for a visitor entry permit by mail or fax. In addition, information on visitor permit applicants from China is collected and reviewed by the CNMI under an electronic program.

Under U.S. immigration laws, most of these applicants would be required to apply in person at a U.S. embassy or consulate, some of which have interview appointment wait times of 30 days or longer.

They also would pay at least $131 for a U.S. visitor visa, while most CNMI visitor entry permits are provided for free.