Demand for visas to visit the United States is growing, but getting one, for many foreigners, has sometimes meant frustratingly long waits for interviews and processing. The State Department struggled to keep up, but this year it took steps to improve. Now, the department says, it has chalked up some victories.

With tension mounting over a confusing visa directive concerning Chinese language teachers in the US, the two sides had quickly reached out for dialogue and successfully found a solution within a couple of days to avoid any further misunderstanding. On May 17, without consulting the Chinese side, Lerner signed a controversial visa policy directive and sent it to US universities that sponsor Confucius Institutes, through which the Chinese government promotes Chinese language and culture overseas.

The U.S. Department of State has overstepped its authority in issuing a policy against the use of paid recruiters for overseas students. That was the charge made during a panel discussion on Friday, the final day of the annual meeting of Nafsa: Association of International Educators. Mitch Leventhal is a founder of the American International Recruitment Council, or Airc, a group that develops standards of ethical practices and a system for certifying overseas recruiters.

Amid an uproar in China over the planned American move to send home dozens of Chinese teachers, the US has withdrawn its "sloppy and incomplete" order directing 80 Confucius Institutes teaching Mandarin to seek reaccreditations.

Though not specifically indicated, it is not hard to draw an analogy between Beijing’s 100-day campaign in the capital to crack down on “illegal” foreign employers who are working on the wrong visas and Washington’s new policy directive on the regulation of visas held by Chinese teachers at Confucius Institutes.

The Department of State is well on the way to meeting the President’s goals of increasing visitor visa processing capacity in China and Brazil by 40 percent in 2012...The State Department is committed to facilitating travel to the United States as part of broader “Jobs Diplomacy” goals. Visas for legitimate travelers are an important tool to help accelerate America’s economic revival.

I am...guilty for having introduced the idea of the importance of India’s “soft power” into the public discourse of our country... My rationale for applying the American academic Joseph Nye’s ideas to India... lay in my conviction that India’s biggest asset in the world was not merely our rising power...

The African continent is seen as one of the cradles of human civilization. Because of its unique environment, this continent is abundant with splendid culture and art. This center aims at spreading Africa's bright culture and diversified art in China and enhancing the cultural exchange between China and Africa.