Economic Vitality and Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP)

Washington lawmakers are pushing to restrict Chinese visa-free travel to the Northern Mariana Islands through the EVS-TAP program, which supporters argue would harm the territory's tourism-dependent economy as it recovers from Super Typhoon Sinlaku. Chinese visitors, which once numbered nearly 186,000 annually, have plummeted to about 10,700, and officials warn that ending the program could further devastate the islands' economic recovery.