By Haidee V. Eugenio
Variety Assistant Editor

THERE is no provision in CNMI immigration regulations that prevents tourists in an advanced stage of pregnancy from taking advantage of the local immigration system by giving birth here for the sole purpose of having U.S. citizen children.
Children born in the Northern Marianas — which is a U.S. commonwealth — are automatically granted American citizenship.
Immigration Director Melvin Grey said the division is aware of this concern and is looking for a way to address it.
“We are aware of this concern. It’s a difficult issue to address. It’s an immigration issue and, at the same time, a medical and moral issue,” said Grey in an interview on Friday.
He said right now, there is no immigration policy banning pregnant women in their third trimester from traveling to the CNMI, or a penalty for tourists who gave birth here.
But Grey said he has been denying applications for extensions from pregnant tourists.
He said the main concern at this stage is how to develop a “fair and reasonable general policy” that will ensure tourists don’t visit the CNMI for the sole purpose of giving birth to U.S. citizen children.
While there is no readily available government data on the number of children born to tourist parents, many in the community believe that tourists from Asian countries come to Saipan just to give birth.
While commercial airlines serving the CNMI, including Continental and Northwest, restrict pregnant women from boarding the plane in their third trimester, they rely on an “honor policy” when it comes to enforcement. This means they rely on the statements of pregnant women that they are only in their second trimester.
Grey said this is a challenge for the Division of Immigration.
Moreover, according to Grey, there is no guarantee that a doctor’s certification about the stage of a tourist’s pregnancy is authentic.
“It could be done by someone who is not a doctor just for the woman to board a plane,” he said.
In other cases, women, even in an advanced stage of pregnancy, don’t appear to have big bellies, and thus would be allowed to board a plane to the CNMI.
“There is no simple solution to this. Once they are here and give birth, the (Commonwealth Health Center) can’t deny them service,” said Grey.
He said individuals should submit a complete set of documents when applying for tourist permits, among other immigration-related applications.
“People file partial packets and then they don’t respond to notices of deficiency. They have to make sure that they file all the required documents and the supporting documents so their applications will be processed immediately; otherwise, I will not accept the applications,” said Grey.