U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced new entry rules for a vacation spot, effective October 30. Senators Rick Scott, Jim Banks, and Markwayne Mullin, who is now the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, first proposed the program to the Trump Administration in January.
The new entry rules for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) come soon after the State Department’s crackdown on the specific tourists this latest program targets. The vacation spot, a Pacific archipelago, documented nearly 15,000 visitors last December, with just under 10% from the U.S. The tourism crackdown is aimed at some foreign nationals and comes as the Trump Administration’s latest push against the practice of birth tourism.
U.S. Customs And Border Protection Is Cracking Down On Some Visitors To A U.S. Vacation Spot
The general notice, published in the Federal Register on October 27 and effective October 30, targets Chinese tourists to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. territory near Guam. Specifically, the program is aimed at tourists from China who wish to engage in “birth tourism.”
Birth tourism is when a parent enters the U.S. to give birth and secure citizenship along with a U.S. passport for their child.
These new regulations end the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP), which allowed pre-screened Chinese nationals to visit the territory for up to 14 days without a visa.
The notice details how the policy change targets Chinese nationals who use the old visa-free travel program to engage in “birth tourism.”
“In addition to espionage, EVS-TAP may create immigration enforcement challenges by aliens who seek to exploit EVS-TAP to engage in birth tourism and secure U.S. citizenship for children with no lasting ties to the United States.”
The suspension also targets high-risk visitors, which it describes as those who engage in “espionage” that could put sensitive U.S. military information at risk.
“DHS [U.S. Department of Homeland Security] believes that circumventing onward travel restrictions, potentially exposing critical U.S. military installations, present unacceptable risks to U.S. national security interests, which DHS must take action to prevent,” the notice states.
The notice said a “significant number” of visitors from China use EVS-TAP to enter U.S. territory; however, the numbers tell a different story.
How Many Chinese Nationals Visit The U.S. Territory Compared To Other Visitors
The notice states that “more than 3,000” Chinese nationals used the visa-free travel program to enter the U.S. territory in fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025). According to the Marianas Visitors Authority, that period saw 160,640 total visitor arrivals,
|
Visitors from |
% of total visitors |
|---|---|
|
South Korea |
70% |
|
China |
6.7% |
|
Hong Kong |
1.9% |
However, there was a time when Chinese nationals used to make up a more significant share.
“Before the COVID-19 pandemic, China comprised about 44% of visitors to the Marianas, with direct flights from multiple mainland cities,” the Marianas Visitors Authority wrote in a report.
As of late October, there are no nonstop flights between any of the territory’s three airports — Saipan International Airport (SPN), Tinian International Airport (TIQ), and Rota International Airport (ROP) — and the U.S., Hong Kong, or China.
In July, Hong Kong Airlines operated a nonstop route between Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and SPN, a route that it had previously offered. Travelers wishing to visit the destination will likely have to connect through Guam’s only commercial airport, Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM).
While the suspension applies only to the Mariana Islands, the original January proposal sought to remove visa-free entry for Hong Kong citizens into Guam as well.
“The Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program (G-CNMI VWP) was created in 2009 and allows holders of a Hong Kong passport visa-free access to the CNMI for up to 45 days at a time. A subset of this program, the CNMI Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP), created by the Biden administration in 2024, also allows Chinese nationals visa-free access to the CNMI for 14 days,” the letter to former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem states.
While the Trump Administration has targeted birth tourism, the alleged practice remains statistically rare in the U.S.
Birth Tourism Remains Statistically Minimal Compared To Total U.S. Births
A 2020 report from the Center for Immigration Studies estimated that roughly 33,000 of U.S. births are the result of birth tourism. The latest “Births and Natality” report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that over 3.6 million babies were born in the U.S. in 2024, meaning 33,000 represents less than 1% of the total U.S. births.
Chinese nationals remain among the top demographics targeted for birth tourism schemes, which can cost parents anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 per birth, according to the think tank Migration Policy Institute.
One such scheme was found to have helped over 100 pregnant Chinese women travel to the U.S., while coaching them on how to fool immigration authorities, prosecutors said.
Operating A Maternity House In California
According to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), Michael Wei Yueh Liu of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and his then-wife, Phoebe Dong, were sentenced to 41 months in prison in 2024. The now-separated couple was found guilty of one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of international money laundering connected to operating a maternity house in California for pregnant Chinese nationals.
As for the Mariana Islands, the general notice says the end of the visa-free program “may” reduce the practice of birth tourism, which it claims harms locals and can be used for espionage.
“While birth tourism has long been an issue in the CNMI, the availability of visa-exempt travel and reduced vetting under EVS-TAP may lower barriers to this practice. Birth tourism can strain medical infrastructure in the CNMI and harm local citizens. Additionally, birth tourism may also be utilized to facilitate long-term intelligence or espionage activities.”
While birth tourism remains statistically rare, the U.S. government continues to clamp down on the practice, at the expense of some travelers. TheTravel contacted CBP for comment.
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