Visa Waiver Program - Guam and Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program

Guam and Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program

In the neighboring U.S. territories of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), both located in the western Pacific Ocean, the U.S. federal government has implemented a specific Guam-Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program. As insular areas of the United States, entry requirements for these territories are the same as any other U.S. destination. However, under this program, first enacted in October 1988 and periodically amended, nationals from several additional countries in Asia and the Pacific islands are permitted to enter the Northern Marianas and Guam as tourists without a visa for up to 45 days (as of November 28, 2009). Travel is not permitted onwards to the mainland United States, and because of special visa categories for the CNMI foreign workers, traveling between Guam and the CNMI still requires a full immigration inspection.

In addition to citizens from the 37 nations designated for the federal VWP, citizens of the following countries in possession of a machine readable passport and with completed Form I-736 (Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Information form) and Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) may enter Guam and the CNMI visa-free for up to 45 days under the specific waiver program applying to the two U.S. territories:

Despite not being included in the new Guam-CNMI visa waiver program, as part of a parole arrangement, Russian citizens in possession of a machine readable passport, a completed Form I-736 (Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Information form) and Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) and a non-refundable and non-transferable return ticket can visit both Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands visa-free for up to 45 days.

Also, as part of another parole arrangement, Chinese citizens in possession of a machine readable passport, completed Form I-736 (Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Information form) and Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) may enter the CNMI only visa-free for up to 45 days (travel to Guam still requires applying for a visa in advance).

The Northern Mariana Islands had previously been a separate jurisdiction from the United States in terms of immigration control. Under a federalization law passed by the U.S. Congress in 2008, the Northern Marianas' immigration functions were taken over by United States Department of Homeland Security agencies on November 28, 2009. The present Guam-Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program took effect at that time, replacing previous Northern Marianas' legislation governing entry to the islands and also replacing a previous Guam-specific Visa Waiver Program. That program had included the aforementioned countries as well as Indonesia, Samoa, Vanuatu, and the Soloman Islands, though these countries were removed from the list of eligible nations for the new program.

In the past, the government of the Northern Mariana Islands had issued Visitor Entry Permits (VEP) instead of visas. Citizens of all countries in the federal visa waiver program were exempt from the VEP requirement, as were citizens of Taiwan and holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passports and British National (Overseas) passports. Under the islands' previous immigration policy, citizens of the following countries or jurisdictions were prohibited from entering the CNMI: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cuba, Egypt, Eritrea, Fujian Province of China, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Myanmar, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.