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Fitial to continue pressing for China, Russia visa waivers
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Posted on Nov 27 2008
Gov. Benigno R. Fitial said that without the visa waivers for Chinese and Russian tourists, the CNMI economy will even be more severely impacted.
In an interview, Fitial vowed to continue asking the federal government for the inclusion of both China and Russia in the visa waiver program.
Fitial said they just received the draft regulations last Tuesday and he has assigned acting Attorney General Gregory Baka to look them over.
The governor said they are going to meet again with the Saipan Chamber of Commerce to discuss the things that need to be done as far as their comments to the draft regulations are concerned.
“But we need to submit our comments after we have thoroughly reviewed the draft regulations,” he emphasized.
According to the semiannual regulatory plan issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, visitors from China and Russia “cannot, at this time, seek admission under the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program due to security concerns.”
Under current local rules, tourists from Russia and China can visit the CNMI without first securing a U.S. visa.
The DHS’ regulatory plan indicates that, despite the significant economic benefits, this policy will have to change when the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program, as provided in the new immigration law, goes into effect in June 2009.
Fitial said that if that draft regulations for the non-inclusion of China and Russia are adopted, the CNMI might be submitting its own bailout package.
“There’s no way we can survive under the proposal, not only under federal immigration law but also the regulations,” he pointed out.
