VisaNorthern Mariana long-term residents must check the new address for travel-permission applications
USCIS changed filing locations on 7 October. Holders of CNMI long-term resident status planning travel elsewhere in the United States should use the current instructions before the 9 November mailing grace period ends.
Official source date: 2026-10-07
Edited and checked by the VisaWand editorial team
Identify the status and the journey
The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services filing-address change matters to people holding Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands long-term resident status who need advance permission for travel to another part of the United States. This is a current filing follow-up, rather than a newly introduced travel restriction. USCIS changed the relevant mailing arrangements on 7 October 2026 and allows applications sent to a former location if postmarked on or before 9 November 2026.
The federal statute distinguishes this status from United States permanent residence. Its protection concerns lawful admission to the Commonwealth, and it authorises employment there. Travelling elsewhere in the United States without the necessary advance approval can automatically terminate the status. The law permits case-by-case approval for temporary, legitimate travel. A traveller should therefore identify the actual immigration status on their documents before treating a domestic flight as unrestricted travel. These rules do not describe every foreign national living in Saipan.
Separate foreign trips from visits to Guam
The USCIS long-term resident guidance says advance permission is not required for travel between the CNMI and a foreign country. It is required for travel to other United States locations, including a visit to Guam, subject to the specific direct-transit exception. A connection through Guam on a direct itinerary between the CNMI and a foreign destination can qualify; an itinerary involving another stopping place does not fit the stated definition.
Customs and Border Protection decides whether a journey qualifies. USCIS allows a travel-related overnight hotel stay outside the Guam airport within direct transit, but going to Guam for business or healthcare requires advance permission. A patient should not assume an onward foreign booking converts a medical visit into an exempt connection. Use the status page to distinguish the purpose of the Guam stay.
Use the category-specific paper application
The Form I-131 page identifies advance permission for CNMI long-term residents as Part 1, Item 5.L. This category is not eligible for online filing under that page’s filing table. Applicants should use the paper route and must not select a different category merely to submit electronically. Download the currently accepted edition from the form page and ensure that every page belongs to that edition; mixed editions can lead to rejection.
The status guidance requires evidence of CNMI long-term resident status and a statement explaining the proposed journey, including its purpose, dates and destinations, with supporting documents. The form resource supplies the application and instructions; the status resource explains the travel evidence. Neither a planned departure date nor proof of mailing is an approval. The reviewed resources do not establish a guaranteed decision time, so the applicant should resolve the permission requirement before relying on a fixed itinerary.
Check the mailing label and payment together
The current I-131 direct-address page sends this category to the USCIS non-family-based lockbox chart. For residents of the CNMI, that chart specifies the Dallas Lockbox: USPS mail goes to USCIS, Attn: NFB, P.O. Box 660867, Dallas, TX 75266-0867. FedEx, UPS and DHL deliveries use Attn: NFB (Box 660867), 2501 S. State Hwy. 121 Business, Suite 400, Lewisville, TX 75067-8003. The delivery method therefore affects the address. Use the current chart rather than copying the older address still displayed on the status overview.
The current G-1055 fee schedule lists a US$630 paper filing fee for this CNMI travel-permission category and says it is not eligible for a fee-waiver request. That schedule also explains authorised payment arrangements, including card authorisation or payment from a United States bank account. Consult the category-specific fee entry when assembling the packet: an incorrect payment can cause rejection. The November grace period concerns the former filing location, not a waiver of the fee or permission to travel while the application remains undecided. The schedule’s specific CNMI entry, rather than a general online-filing link elsewhere on the page, identifies the applicable payment category.
