The U.S. immigration system is a capricious and convoluted bureaucracy. Take, for example, the rules that children and spouses of U.S. citizens must navigate to legalize their status.Currently, immigrants who qualify for a visa, and ultimately a green card, must return to their homelands to receive it. The problem is that the moment they leave the United States, they trigger automatic sanctions that bar them from returning for up to 10 years. Some can secure waivers to re-enter, but only if they

Barack Obama puzzles many of us. His performance as president has disappointed so dramatically that it prompts me to wonder what makes him tick.The most widely used tool for understanding personality types is a questionnaire called the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. So I bought a book called “Do What You Are,” by Paul Tieger and Barbara Barron-Tieger, and read their explanation of the Myers-Briggs classifications to try to understand our president in the broad terms commonly used by professionals.

Speaking from what he apparently considers a position of strength, Syrian President Bashar Assad this week condemned the “terrorists,” “traitors” and “outsiders” he said were leading the 10-month-old uprising against him and threatened to strike his enemies with an “iron fist.” Preventing such an offensive by the regime, which has complied only fitfully with a demand by the Arab League that it restrain itself, will be difficult. But the Arab League and the United Nations can and must do more to

At some point in every negotiation over fiscal policy, once the high-minded speeches and other pleasantries have been delivered, the disagreeable details poison the atmosphere. Everyone is in favor of tax and entitlement reform, after all, until they see the specifics. The reaction to the cost-cutting strategy that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta revealed last week suggests this is about to happen with regard to Pentagon spending. Let me be very clear: Substantial efficiencies can and should be w

It has been pointed out for years that Japan’s diplomatic standing is deteriorating, a condition likened to “ground subsidence.” With the prime minister being changed annually for six years in a row, international awareness of this country’s existence has further declined.Last year, we received heartwarming help from all over the world after the country suffered the disastrous Great East Japan Earthquake. This international bond made us recognize afresh the importance of diplomacy.This year, Jap

That Pervez Musharraf’s rally in Karachi on Sunday wasn’t much of a success goes without saying. Television showed the reality, and flags and buntings failed to hide the lack of popular enthusiasm. Coming after Imran Khan’s much larger rally last month, the small crowd must have been embarrassing for the former president-general. But this was his first Karachi rally, so let us wait for more such episodes of “enlightened moderation.” Addressing the people from Dubai via telephone, the former pres

The ongoing visit to China by the president of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-bak, has come at an important time. In a few months, the two countries will mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and they have designated this year one of friendly exchanges. Flourishing trade and people-to-people exchanges have been the most impressive areas of Sino-ROK cooperation. The Sino-ROK trade volume now exceeds the ROK’s trade volume with the United States and Japan combine

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim arrived at the Jalan Duta High Court Monday morning convinced he was going to be found guilty of committing sodomy.Two hours later, he left the court cleared of the charge of sodomizing his former aide Saiful Bukhari Azlan.The judgment left both sides of the political divide stunned as the two opposing sides had been equally convinced that Anwar would be pronounced guilty.The Pakatan Rakyat side could hardly believe their ears after years of slamming the

Of all the realizations Barack Obama has made in three years in the White House, this may be the most crucial: The U.S. is a Pacific nation. Odd as it sounds, the U.S. spent the past decade forgetting a fact that’s obvious from consulting a map or tracking container ships. When George W. Bush’s administration bothered with Asia, it was all terrorism all the time. Quite odd, considering how reliant the largest economy became on Asia’s money during his tenure. The region became America’s banker. O