The Saipan Chamber of Commerce weighed in on a recent letter signed by more than 30 members of Congress urging the Department of Homeland Security to change the visa policy for Chinese Nationals entering the Northern Marianas due to national security concerns. 

SCC president Joe Guerrero said, "For some, it was a shock, you know, to learn that an economic tool that was provided to us over many years was being proposed to be unilaterally discontinued without a solution to our economic recovery."

Guerrero admits the NMI’s discretionary parole program wasn’t a long-term solution, but says there’s hope with a new visa pending. 

He added, "There is this visa program that was a result of the last 902 talks in 2016 and in 2019 they finally agreed to create this new visa called the Economic Vitality and Security Travel Authorization Program or better known as EVS-TAP. And this would be a sub-program of the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program, which we all know is a unique visa waiver program that allows our region to grow, particularly with tourism."

He said it would be an easier alternative to the proposed implementation of B1 and B2 visas that the rest of the states and territories use.  A summary of the rule states, ”Once implemented, the CNMI EVS-TAP will allow prescreened nationals of the People's Republic of China to travel without a visa only to the CNMI under specified conditions."

Local business leaders insist that the new visa will “create firm safeguards against overstaying visitors or any potential future rise in birth tourism.”

Ultimately, with South Korea now dominating the market and Japan far behind, a third market is needed.

KUAM News asked Guerrero, "From the Chamber's point of view, is it critical that China is our third market or that it can come back to be our first market?" Guerrero responded, "Let me put it this way. We need a market."

The Chamber and HANMI will meet local Senators to discuss these issues next week.