DOES LOU DOBBS KNOW WHAT AN H-1B VISA IS?

April 15, 2008 by Bradley Maged.

This evening I was watching CNN’s Lou Dobbs and saw an interview with correspondent Bill Tucker where both Dobbs and Tucker referred to the H-1B as being for low-skilled workers.  The exact quote from Bill Tucker (thanks to my handy DVR) was “H-1Bs go to low-skilled workers.”  For a show that spews anti-immigrant rhetoric day in and day out, this demonstrates a lack of research or basic understanding of the H-1B visa from both the show’s correspondent and host.  BTW, Dobbs always says that he only opposes ILLEGAL immigration, however this piece directly criticized the legal temporary H-1B program and those who support expanding it.

H-1B, in short,  is a nonimmigrant classification used for an alien who is/will be employed temporarily in a specialty occupation.   The regulations define a “specialty occupation” as requiring theoretical and practical application of a body of highly specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor.  How is this for “low skilled workers”? 

The H-1B visa is not for “low-skilled workers” as Dobbs’ show purports it to be.  It is one thing to poison the immigration debate day in and day out with opinions that are anti-immigrant, it is another to misstate the facts and allow the misstated facts to stand as news on a reputable network such as CNN.    

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