by Simon Hankinson
Reports of Chinese nationals admitted to the U.S. on visas and then spying or stealing sensitive information for China are all too common. But perhaps more shocking is the fact that some Chinese nationals are able to enter U.S. territory without any visas at all.
How?
The answer can be found in a special program that allows Chinese to travel without a U.S. visa.
The Visa Waiver Program provides 90-day visa-free travel to the United States for certain stable, prosperous countries that have good relations with the U.S. and whose citizens have very low rates of visa abuse.
To be in the Visa Waiver Program, countries must share criminal records of their citizens with U.S. authorities to ensure that any applicants with adverse records are properly vetted and refused entry if necessary.
Countries with high overstay rates—such as Chad or India—are eons away from qualifying for such a program. Countries that are hostile to the United States, that routinely spy on our military facilities, and that steal our technology—like China— are impossible to imagine getting the privilege.
So why are Chinese citizens now allowed to get into the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa and the scrutiny that goes with it?
The CNMI is a U.S. territory, and as of 1986, its natives are U.S. citizens. One of the islands (Saipan) was the site of a bloody battle against the Japanese and remains the site of sensitive U.S. military bases. But it’s open to Chinese nationals without visas.
The U.S. implements a host of programs similar to the Visa Waiver Program for Canadians, Caribbean islands, and Pacific-island states. One is the Guam-CNMI visa waiver program, which lets foreigners from selected countries travel there—but not to the mainland U.S.—without a visa.
Under the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008, the Homeland Security secretary can add countries to the Guam-CNMI program.