Document checklist
Pakistan → Northern Mariana Islands: Short-stay tourist
What you need before you submit, checked against official requirements, not guesswork.
Not yet checked. This page was drafted from the sources listed below but hasn't passed verification yet. Double-check anything critical directly with the official source before you rely on it.
Required documents
8 itemsIdentity
A US visitor visa (B-1/B-2), unless your nationality can travel visa-free
RequiredThe Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are part of the United States, so most nationalities need a US B-1/B-2 visitor visa, applied for at a US embassy or consulate. Nationals of the countries in the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program (Australia, Brunei, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong or Taiwan residents who meet the conditions) can visit the CNMI for up to 45 days without a visa with an electronic travel authorization, Chinese passport holders can visit the CNMI only for up to 14 days without a visa under the EVS-TAP, and Canadian citizens need no visa; those travellers are shown a visa-free notice instead. If you would need a visa, the steps below apply. Travellers from the general US Visa Waiver Program countries can travel without a visa if they hold an approved ESTA (22 CFR 41.2(k): up to 90 days, business or pleasure); we could not read the current country list, so check it on the official ESTA site before you apply for a visa.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
DS-160 online application, confirmation page printed
RequiredComplete the online nonimmigrant visa application (Form DS-160) and print the confirmation page to bring to your interview. You need your passport at hand to fill it in.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
Passport valid for travel to the United States
RequiredValid for at least six months beyond your period of stay, unless a country-specific agreement exempts your passport from that rule. Each person who needs a visa applies separately, including family members listed in your passport.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
Photo
RequiredYou upload your photo while completing the DS-160. If the upload fails, bring one printed photo in the required format.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
Financial
Visa application fee
The page we read shows a non-refundable processing fee of US$185 per applicant, and an extra issuance fee for some nationalities, paid at the interview. Bring the receipt if you are required to pay before your interview. Check the fee and how to pay on the website of the embassy where you apply, since the page we read is undated.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
Purpose of travel
Evidence of the purpose of your trip, your plan to leave and how you will pay
Additional documents may be requested, for example evidence of the purpose of your trip, your intent to leave the United States afterwards, and your ability to pay all costs (someone else may cover them). Employment and family ties may be enough to show purpose and intent to return. You must qualify on the basis of your residence and ties abroad, not on assurances from US family or friends. A letter of invitation or affidavit of support is not needed.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
Travel
Travel itinerary and past US trips, if you have them
Have your travel plans ready if you have already made arrangements, the dates of your last five visits to the United States if any, and be ready to list your international travel for the past five years. You may also be asked for a resume or CV covering your education and work history.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
Other
Book an interview and print the confirmation
Schedule an interview online using the barcode on your DS-160 and print the appointment confirmation. The page we read says a consular officer can require any applicant to attend, and gives age rules for who is usually interviewed that may be out of date; follow the interview instructions of the embassy where you apply.
Source: U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results)
Why applications on this route get refused
Purpose, plan to leave or ability to pay not shown
The State Department says additional documents may be requested to decide whether you qualify, and that you must qualify on your residence and ties abroad rather than on assurances from people in the US.
How to avoid it: Be ready to show why you are travelling, that you intend to leave afterwards (employment and family ties can help) and how the trip is paid for.
Visa-free entry assumed beyond what the CNMI programs allow
The CNMI visa-free programs have set conditions: Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program travellers must stay no more than 45 days, and Chinese EVS-TAP travellers no more than 14 days, with a round-trip ticket and an approved electronic travel authorization before boarding. A traveller who does not meet them, or is found inadmissible, is refused admission and removed.
How to avoid it: Check that your nationality is on the program list, get your electronic travel authorization before you board, and hold a round-trip ticket within the stay limit; otherwise apply for a US B-1/B-2 visa.
Russian passport holder expecting visa-free entry
Russians were once allowed visa-free entry to Guam and the CNMI by discretionary parole for up to 45 days. DHS ended that policy on 3 October 2019 and Russia is not on the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program country list.
How to avoid it: Apply for a US B-1/B-2 visa before travelling.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State: B1, B2 or B1/B2 visa (USEmbassy.gov visa wizard results) · checked 11 Oct 2026
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 8 CFR 212.1 (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations) · checked 11 Oct 2026
- U.S. Department of State, 22 CFR 41.2 (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations) · checked 11 Oct 2026
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Register notice 84 FR 46029 (3 Sept 2019): rescission of Russia parole policy for Guam and the CNMI · checked 11 Oct 2026
Check your documents against this list before you pay the Northern Mariana Islands application fee.
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