Homeland Security rescinds discretionary parole for Russians seeking entry to Guam, CNMI

It’s official: the Department of Homeland Security is rescinding discretionary parole policies relating to Russian nationals seeking entry into Guam and or the CNMI.

“The Secretary has reviewed this use of discretionary parole authority and concluded that the policy should be terminated, for numerous reasons, effective October 3, 2019,” according to the announcement posted on Saturday on the Federal Register website.

DHS found that the parole authority has been exercised far too expansively than originally intended. “Since the 2012 expansion of the discretionary parole authority for Russian nationals seeking entry into Guam, overstays increased from 26 in FY 2012 to 147 in FY 2017, or by 465 percent.

"While this represents a relatively small percentage of overall Russian visitors in the CNMI and Guam, the increase in overstays is in and of itself a security concern for DHS,” the announcement stated.

In response to the announcement Guam Visitors Bureau CEO & President Pilar Laguana says they regret the loss of the Russian market. "On November 23, 2011, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security granted parole authority for Russian visitors to come to Guam and the CNMI.  Parole authority allows visitors from Russia to enter Guam on a case-by-case basis, without the need for a U.S. visa.  The parole authority allowed Russian visitors to stay in the Mariana Islands for up to 45 days in total. 
 
Upon this announcement in 2011, the Guam Visitors Bureau immediately seized opportunities to cultivate and develop Guam’s tourism economy and actively worked with the U. S. Embassy in Moscow as well as the U.S. Commercial Service Office to introduce Guam as a leisure resort destination.  
 
In particular, the Bureau focused mainly in the far eastern areas of Russia, namely, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.  Our best year of arrivals from Russia was in FY2014.  Through charter flights, 18,291 Russian visitors enjoyed our warm waters and pristine environment.  At the same time, Russians also flocked into the CNMI.    As of July 2019, Guam’s fiscal year arrivals from Russia reached 4,779.
 
In recent years, we have seen the Asia Pacific region become more volatile to geo-political tensions and while we are very disappointed, we are not surprised with the announcement of the rescinding of the parole authority.  Diversification of our source markets is essential to our island’s continued success in the tourism industry.  Strategically, the Bureau is constantly looking for new markets to develop.  In line with the Guam – CNMI Visa Waiver program, marketing efforts have begun in Southeast Asian countries.  

We regret the lost of this important market and hope that it can be restored some day soon. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our industry both on island and in Russia for the assistance we have received  during this period of tourism prosperity from Russia."