Three independent nations have signed compacts of free association (COFAs) with the United States: (1) the Republic of Palau, (2) the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and (3) the Federated States of Micronesia. Each nation has its own citizenship.
Citizens of the three Freely Associated States (FAS) can travel, work, study, and live freely in the U.S., but they do not have the same rights as U.S. citizens.
COFAs are treaties between two nations in which the smaller country grants the larger partner unfettered military access in exchange for national security protection, visa-free travel and limited access to federal programs. A possible COFA was talked about a few years ago as a possible new status option for Puerto Rico – perhaps launching a new relationship between the U.S. and its most populous territory.
Debate appears to be stagnating for now, but to the extent the issue may gain momentum again, it is helpful to keep in mind the different rules for citizens of free associated states and U.S. citizens.
Entry into the United States
U.S. citizens, including people born in Puerto Rico or in any state, have a barrier-free entry into the United States. No visas required. No conditions on entry. Citizens returning from a vacation abroad can just show their passports as they disembark from an airplane or ship. No official documents are given to U.S. citizens for them to keep track of. They just enter the U.S. No further steps are required.
Admission to the U.S. for COFA citizens is similar, but not identical. They must show their passports from their home countries and receive an I-94, a document showing legal admission into the United States. However, they are not guaranteed admission like U.S. citizens.
The U.S. Customs and Immigration Fact Sheet for Palau is clear that citizens of Palau “are entitled under the Compact to travel and apply for admission to the United States as nonimmigrants without visas.” Yet the document is also clear that “admission to the United States is not guaranteed,” and that “[m]ost grounds of inadmissibility under United States immigration laws, such as criminal convictions, still apply.”
Grounds of inadmissibility include not only criminal convictions, but also health concerns such as a lack of vaccinations, “moral turpitude,” a history of evading the draft or of terroristic activity, and a variety of other conditions. The possibility of becoming a public charge, which is to say the likelihood of requiring public benefits, is also grounds for inadmissibility.
The U.S. government’s Fact Sheet for the other two COFA nations includes the identical statement.
Papers, please
Civics lessons for American kids often include the point that requirements for citizens to carry identification at all times are associated with authoritarian regimes. Nazi Germany’s “special identification” for German Jews, South Africa’s “passbook” requirements under apartheid, and the Soviet Union’s “propiska” internal passport system are common examples. In the United States, by contrast, citizens are not required to carry or show papers or even identification. ID may be required to show legal permission to drive or to enter a federal building, but there is no general requirement for citizens to show papers without cause.
Citizens of free associated states, on the other hand, are required to carry their I-94 (entry document) or their passport with a U.S. admission stamp at all times. They must also be prepared to show this document if asked.
Other noncitizens in the United States, including permanent residents, must also carry their documents. Permanent residents must carry their green cards and show them if requested and foreign nationals must have their passport, I-94, or visa on hand. Citizens of free associated states are in the same position.
Family members
Citizens of COFA nations are eligible for unlimited entry and stay in the United States, but a noncitizen spouse or child is not eligible for the compact privileges. A citizen of Palau, for example, who is married to a citizen of New Zealand, can enter the U.S. freely but the spouse cannot.
U.S. citizens cannot bring a non-citizen spouse into the U.S. without a visa, but the citizen’s spouse or fiancé(e) can receive a special visa. A non-immigrant visa is available for either a spouse or fiancé(e) so that they can enter the country legally and then begin the process of applying for permanent residence. These options are not available to COFA citizens.
Would this apply to Puerto Rico?
Supporters of free association often portray a future in which the United States gives whatever Puerto Rico asks for, including U.S. citizenship or the current seamless U.S. entry rules. This is not what history shows.
All three of the nations with compacts of free association have different rules from the rules that apply to U.S. citizens. Nothing in U.S. history or in Puerto Rico’s history with the U.S. suggests that Puerto Rico would have more favorable rules. The U.S. owes Puerto Rican voters realistic expectations of free association, since a vote for this option would precede negotiations that, if successful, could result in the Compact of Free Association. If Puerto Rico were to become independent with the hope of establishing a free association agreement and no such agreement is reached, Puerto Rico would remain a new independent nation with its own citizenship and the related lack of access to the U.S.
