The VWP rules also removed the privilege of citizens of Indonesia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Western Samoa to freely enter Guam also due to political, security, and law enforcement concerns.
The rules mandate the U.S. Customs and Border Protection to establish its operations on the six ports of entry in the Northern Marianas — a seaport and airport on each of the three major islands of Saipan, Tinian and Rota.
“At this time…due to political, security, and law enforcement concerns, including high nonimmigrant visa refusal rates and concerns with cooperation regarding the repatriation of citizens, subjects, nationals and residents of the country subject to a final order of removal, nationals of [China] and Russia are not eligible to participate in the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program when the program is implemented,” the DHS regulation published in the Federal Register states.
The regulation took effect on Jan. 16, 2009 and would have been applied to the Marianas on June 1, 2009, the scheduled start of the federalization law, but DHS ordered a 180-day delay, pushing back the date to Nov. 28.
The current Guam Visa Waiver Program, which allows certain countries visa free access to the territory, will be superseded by the Guam-CNMI VWP.
The Guam-CNMI VWP allows for a maximum of 45 days to stay on the islands for citizens of Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.
Nonimmigrant visitors whose countries, like Russia and China, are not included on the list must obtain a visa from a U.S. Embassy or consulate.
“They will no longer be able to visit the CNMI using the CNMI Visitor Entry Permit,” the rules said.
Foreign workers must obtain the appropriate visa to be able to enter and work in the CNMI when the transition phase of the federalization law starts later this year.
“DHS will begin operating ports-of-entry in the CNMI for immigration inspection of arriving aliens and establish departure control for certain flights leaving the CNMI. In addition, on that date [implementation], DHS will begin the administration and enforcement of the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program,” the published rules further state.
Using the elasticity demand method, DHS said if the rule had been in effect in the baseline year of May 2007 to April 2008, the regulation would have resulted in 5,017 fewer Chinese tourists coming to the CNMI during the period, 194 fewer visitors from Russia and 618 fewer visitors from the Philippines.
“We estimate that the associated reductions in spending would have been $4.9 million from the Chinese, $0.8 million from the Russians, and $0.5 million from the Filipinos. In sum, the total visitor spending in the CNMI could potentially have declined by $6.2 million or 2 percent of the $317 million in total visitor spending,” the regulation states.
DHS said for the more affluent travelers, the costs associated in obtaining a U.S. visa are not a major issue.
“There may not be very many travelers from [China], Russia, and the Philippines for whom the visa costs and burden are particularly meaningful — they are either wealthy enough that it does not matter, or their economic status is such that international travel is out of reach regardless of the additional travel costs,” it said.
