THE CNMI’s overseas efforts to expand its tourism business include participating in local travel exhibitions, hosting informational sessions, establishing relationships with local travel agencies, and advertising to build brand awareness. However, these methods have not yielded the expected results for two main reasons:
First, it has been challenging to closely align the interests of the travel agencies with our own. When travel agencies recommend Saipan to their clients, if the clients decline due to the CNMI’s lack of recognition, absence of direct flights, or other reasons, the agencies are generally not motivated to persuade them otherwise. From the travel agency’s perspective, as long as the client’s trip is arranged through them, their profits remain unaffected, regardless of the destination.
Second, traditional methods of promotion, such as frequent advertising, hiring skilled marketing staff, and providing subsidies to local travel agencies or airlines, are not only inefficient but also difficult to sustain if budget constraints are considered.
So, how can we bypass budgetary issues and still motivate travel agencies to proactively develop the market for the CNMI? The only answer lies in leveraging the advantages of the E2 non-immigrant visa to find the right partners for collaboration!
About the E Visa
The U.S. has treaty agreements with approximately 80 countries for commerce and navigation. Citizens of these countries who invest in various industries in the U.S., such as tourism, IT, and marketing, can apply for a Treaty Trader (E1) or Treaty Investor (E2) visa.
Citizens of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia can all apply for an E visa, though regrettably, Chinese citizens cannot.
Last year, U.S. consulates issued approximately 54,000 E2 Treaty Investor visas, a 20% increase from the previous year, setting a new record. In 2023, the number of E2 visa approvals reached 54,963, with the majority coming from Japan (15,560), followed by Germany (3,779), Canada (6,254), France (2,851), and the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland (2,843), among others. (Source: https://visaguide.world/news/us-issued-nearly-54000-e2-visas-in-2023-marking-a-new-record-high/ )
Advantages of the E2 Visa
Simple Application Process: There is no need to apply to USCIS in advance. Once all required documents are prepared, they can be submitted electronically to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the applicant’s home country. Typically, the visa can be obtained within three months.
No Minimum Investment Requirement: The E2 visa requires a significantly lower investment compared to the EB5 immigrant visa.
No Residency Restrictions: The E2 visa holder, along with their spouse and children, can reside anywhere within U.S. territories, not limited to the CNMI.
No Quota Limit: There is no annual cap on the number of E2 visas issued.
Family Accompanying Privileges: The visa allows the applicant’s spouse and unmarried children under 21 years old (not 18 years old) to obtain visas.
Unlimited Renewals: While most countries grant a five-year E2 visa (with some granting two-year visas), there are no limits on the number of renewals, as long as the investment business continues to operate.
Freedom to Invest in Any Industry: The business investment in the U.S. does not have to be related to the applicant’s industry in their home country. The investor can choose to invest in a completely new field.
Spouse’s Employment Authorization: The E2 visa holder’s spouse can legally work in the U.S. without needing to apply for additional work authorization.
No residence period requirement: Unlike green card holders, E2 visa holders are not required to reside in the U.S. for an extended period.
The E2 visa is designed with a single goal in mind — to attract talented entrepreneurs to the U.S. How can the CNMI leverage the advantages of the E2 visa to expand its international tourism market? The answer lies in attracting foreign investment in tourism projects.
It is well known that the United States, with its education, technology, healthcare, freedom, and inclusivity, attracts elite immigrants from around the world, particularly in the field of education. Many elites go to great lengths to send their children to the U.S. for better educational opportunities. In California, some wholesale traders operating out of warehouses engage in transactions at almost no profit or even at a loss. The reason is that these business owners must maintain a certain level of revenue and employ a certain number of employees to retain their immigration status. This is commonly referred to as “immigrant goods.”
Therefore, if the owner of a travel agency or one of its shareholders wishes to send their children to the U.S. for education, and the CNMI approaches them to promote the tourism market, they might establish a travel company in Saipan and apply for an E2 visa. This would allow them to send their children to study in California under the E2 dependent status. In such a scenario, they would be highly motivated to promote the CNMI’s tourism market. If the travel company they established in CNMI cannot continue operating, their E2 visa will not be renewed upon expiration, meaning their personal interests would be closely tied to CNMI’s success.
Suggested approach for the CNMI
Establish a Tourism Investment Department: This department should focus on attracting investments in tourism projects that do not harm the environment, promote culture, or help in market expansion. Examples include tethered hot air balloon rides, flyboarding, vertical wind tunnel flights, and farmhouse restaurants. After assessing the feasibility of these projects, the CNMI should recruit interested international investors to visit and evaluate these opportunities on-site.
Provide Recommendation Letters: Once investors have made a tangible investment (a requirement for applying for the E2 visa), the CNMI should provide them with recommendation letters. The effectiveness of these letters in helping investors’ applications will depend on the project’s business plan and the letter’s content. If the letter is merely a formality, it will not be helpful at all.
For promoting the existing tourism market, the CNMI should not focus on establishing local offices. Instead, it should collaborate with travel businesses interested in applying for the E visa and delegate the responsibility of market promotion to them.
A leader’s abilities, no matter how great, are still limited. However, if the leader can identify and recruit more talented individuals to serve the country, the resulting power and effectiveness become limitless. Therefore, the CNMI should focus on attracting more E2 investors to help develop tourism. This shift would transform the CNMI’s role from a demanding executor to an overseeing role, making it easier while achieving better results. Since this type of visa does not require residency in the CNMI, the target markets can expand beyond Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea to include countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia. This is not an exaggeration; by separating the market, investment, and management, investors can use their domestic networks to attract business, entrust local teams in the CNMI to operate the projects, and settle their families in Hawaii. This E2 investment plan is far superior to most U.S. immigration schemes in terms of capital control, investment amount, and application time (details will be discussed separately). In short, investors can view investing in the CNMI as a stepping stone to achieving their immigration goals, and this stepping stone will, in turn, boost the CNMI’s tourism economy.
This article reflects the insights my company gained while assisting San Antonio, Texas, in attracting investments from Taiwan. Although it was 30 years ago, I recently assisted Taiwanese investors in applying for E2 visas, and aside from switching to electronic submission for consulate pre-screening, the principles of processing remain unchanged. The E visa, first signed into effect with the United Kingdom on July 3, 1815 (Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20140705035204/http:/travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/treaty.html), has stood the test of time for over 200 years, making it a visa of enduring value.
Richard Peng was born in Taiwan. Before immigrating to the United States in 1994, one of his Taiwanese company’s businesses was entrusted by the city of San Antonio, Texas to recruit Taiwanese manufacturers to invest there. He immigrated to the United States in 1994 and ran a farm in Oregon growing apples, cherries, and Asian pears. He settled in Saipan in 2014.
