Could the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), the furthest east, and perhaps least known of America's territories take center stage and become a bargaining chip in diplomatic relations between the US, Russia and China in light of
Iran's nuclear proliferation? Joe Hill, attorney on the island of Saipan, the commonwealth's capital and center of economic activity, thinks so, and he may not be the only one.

"There are a few pieces of the puzzle," Joe Hill suggests, "that, if they could just connect somehow, might prove a perfect solution to our problem."

Puzzle Piece 1: The Visa Waiver

The "problem" at issue is the impending federalization of the commonwealth's immigration under Public Law 110-229, which is being opposed and resisted by many of Saipan's residents, leadership and business community because of its
anticipated effect on the island's sole source of economic viability: tourism.

Saipan's year-round tropical weather, white sandy beaches, clear water and world class diving has made it a popular vacation getaway for Japanese, Russian, Chinese and American tourists for over 30 years.

Saipan, which has controlled its own immigration policies since its political union with the United States in 1975, extended a waiver of the costly, and time-consuming visa requirements to Russian and Chinese visitors, allowing them to travel freely to vacation on Saipan's shores.

The new law, which would effectively bring the Commonwealth under US immigration law and control threatens that waiver, effectively cutting off a potentially profitable stream of tourist dollars which the island needs in order to recover from the crippling effects of the recent departure of its now infamous garment industry.

Puzzle Piece #2: Iran's deception

It's just been reported that Iran has been withholding information about a nuclear program. US President Obama now seeks Chinese and Russian support (along with Britain, France and Germany--the P5 countries--to impose sanctions on Iran.

The most important thing on Obama's agenda is rallying the P5 countries together to put pressure on Iran. However, a good faith gesture like allowing the citizens of your desired allies to travel to the tropical shores of one of your possessions could be used as a chip to garner that support and build toward even friendlier future relations.

Just about any resident of Saipan will tell you that businesses there are in a state of limbo based on the uncertainty of the coming federalization. Investments in the island have been stalled, Construction is down. Tourism is decreasing as Russians and Chinese, expecting that they'll no longer be allowed the luxury of a Saipan paradise vacation, are looking and booking elsewhere.

The Saipan Solution:

Might the US maintain the Russia and China visa waiver program, which has proven beneficial and incident-free for all these years, as an olive branch--a way of softening relations with Russia and China?

It's a small gesture," Hill acknowledges. "It's a small thing in a much bigger picture, but it's of major importance to us American citizens, and resident workers living on Saipan, and perhaps could be an incremental step in fostering good relations
between the US, Russia and China."

A long shot? Perhaps, but for the people of Saipan and the Northern Mariana Islands, whose livelihoods are threatened, whose families face separation as a result of the controversial law, and the end of the visa waiver, it's a shot worth taking.