WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) has formally introduced legislation in the Senate that would bar Chinese nationals from entering the United States without a valid visa, with the bill’s language explicitly including Hong Kong and Macau nationals and targeting visa waiver programs that have directly benefited tourism to the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.
NMI News Service first reported on Scott’s push in February, when the senator announced the measure before the full bill text was available. With the legislation now formally introduced and published in the Congressional Record, additional details reveal broader implications for the CNMI than the initial announcement suggested.
The bill, formally titled the One Nation, One Visa Policy Act (S. 3857), was introduced February 12 and referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. It directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to deny admission to any national of the People’s Republic of China, or any individual bearing a Chinese passport, who does not hold a valid visa. It also prohibits the use of DHS funds to allow Chinese nationals to participate in the Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Visa Waiver Program or any other visa-free travel program.
The bill’s definitions section explicitly states that the term “People’s Republic of China” encompasses the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, a provision that would close a longstanding pathway through which Hong Kong passport holders have participated in the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program.
Scott, along with Senators Jim Banks (R-Indiana) and Markwayne Mullin (R-Oklahoma), first called on DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in a January 15 letter to end EVS-TAP and require standard tourist visas for Chinese nationals traveling to the CNMI. That letter also raised concerns about birth tourism and national security vulnerabilities in the current visa waiver structure.
The legislation, if enacted, would have direct consequences for the CNMI’s tourism economy. Chinese nationals, including those traveling on Hong Kong passports, have historically represented a significant share of visitor arrivals to Saipan.
The bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. No hearing date has been scheduled, and no companion House legislation has been announced.
