HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	307
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE  CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

URGING THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT TO EASE RESTRICTIONS ON THE ISSUANCE TEMPORARY VISAS AND EXTEND THE STAY LIMIT TO ALLOW FOREIGN MEDIATORS AND PARTIES IN NEED OF MEDIATION SERVICES TO ENTER THE STATE OF HAWAII FOR THE PURPOSE OF FACILITATING COMMUNICATION AND NEGOTIATION BETWEEN PARTIES TO RESOLVE DISPUTES.

     WHEREAS, Hawaii is one of the most racially diverse places in the world and it continues to attract people from throughout Asia including China, Korea, the Philippines, and Vietnam; and

     WHEREAS, many of those people who have immigrated to Hawaii from a foreign country are not fluent in the English language and face obstacles especially when it comes to finding resolution to disputes; and

     WHEREAS, many times a dispute may escalate to court action where those people with limited English language abilities are met with intimidating and confusing processes as they try to find a solution to their problem; and

     WHEREAS, in times when it may take as long as a year to get a judicial resolution in our overburdened judicial system, and multiple years if a case is appealed, the mediation alternative often provides a more timely way of resolving disputes; and

     WHEREAS, mediation is a technique used throughout the world to resolve disputes between parties that have gotten too big or have become too personal to deal with independently with open, unclouded judgment; and

     WHEREAS, parties involved in a dispute are generally more satisfied with solutions that have been mutually agreed upon, as opposed to solutions that are imposed by a court of law; and

     WHEREAS, with Hawaii's diverse ethnic population, our state is seriously short of people skilled not only in the discipline of mediation but also who speak a foreign language fluently to accommodate the number of people who need their services; and

     WHEREAS, mediation demands trust and excellent communication skills and many people and companies from foreign countries have a distinct fear of people from outside of their culture especially when the person the they are dealing with must act as an authority figure in the dispute resolution process; and

     WHEREAS, a method of alleviating Hawaii's need for foreign mediators would be a relaxation of United States visa restrictions and visa extensions for foreign mediators so they may travel to the United States, including Hawaii, and have sufficient time to serve people of the same culture, ethnicity, and language; and

     WHEREAS, allowing mediators to travel with greater ease and visa extensions would provide Hawaii's people and companies from foreign countries greater opportunities to not only resolve disputes, but to actively participate in society with greater confidence with the knowledge that assistance is available to them in the event of a disagreement; and

     WHEREAS, Hawaii is optimally situated in the middle of the Pacific to become a hub for diplomacy and dispute resolution, and a place for our Asia-Pacific neighbors to come to when further assistance is necessary; and

     WHEREAS, easing the visa requirements and not only for foreign mediators but also for those people and companies from foreign countries in need of mediation services will provide a helping hand to our neighboring Asian-Pacific countries and strengthen international ties; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, the Senate concurring, that the United States Government is urged to ease restrictions on the issuance of temporary visas and an extension of the stay limit by a minimum of 30 days to allow foreign mediators and parties in need of mediation services to enter the United States, including the State of Hawaii, for the purposes of facilitating communication and negotiation between parties to assist them in reaching a voluntary agreement regarding their dispute; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, United States Secretary of State, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Director of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Immigration Visas; Foreign Mediators