Washington— Effective January 15, citizens of Russia are eligible to travel to Guam without a visa. On November 15, 2011, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signed a decision that allows U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to exercise discretionary parole authority on a case-by-case basis to permit Russian nationals to travel to Guam visa-free.

The new eligibility allows citizens of Russia to enter Guam visa-free and travel between Guam and the CNMI as nonimmigrant visitors for business or pleasure for a period of stay up to 45 days, provided the traveler meets certain conditions.

Russian citizens seeking admission to Guam under this program must possess a valid, unexpired machine-readable passport, have not previously violated the terms of any prior admission to the U.S. and present a valid completed CBP Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record and Form I-736, CNMI Visa Waiver Information. Visitors who are paroled under this authority may not engage in local employment or labor for hire.

Parole authorization is limited to Guam and the CNMI only and does not include the benefit of travel to another location within the United States.

Previously, on October 21, 2009, DHS announced that citizens of the People’s Republic of China and Russia would be permitted to travel to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) visa-free, and those travelers would be paroled into the CNMI, based on the Secretary’s discretionary parole authority, on a case-by-case basis. This benefit became effective November 28, 2009.

CBP works to facilitate travel to the United States while securing our borders from terrorists and terrorist weapons that may cause harm. CBP also works to ensure the safety of international travelers who come to visit, study, and conduct legitimate business in our country.

This program is different from the general U.S. Visa Waiver Program under Section 217 of the Immigration and Nationalization Act (INA), which authorizes the admission of visitors from approved countries for up to 90 days without a visa to any part of the United States (including Guam).