Media Misleads on True Nature of H-1Bs

By John Miano on August 19, 2013

If you follow an issue closely in the news, you get a clear picture of how useless the American media is. A few weeks ago I contacted the writer and editor of a wire story on H-1B visas that had a dozen clear factual errors. They responded that they were trying to tell a story. In other words, these writers were not going to let the facts get in the way of a good story.

Here is a example from ABC News.

The article discusses Facebook’s first women engineer, who appears to be on an H-1B visa (that alone says a lot). The article states:

In order for an H-1B application to be approved, employers recruiting the potential employee have to prove that the specific duties are "so specialized and complex" that the role cannot be filled by a resident in the United States.

The quotes are in the original. This statement is a complete fabrication — a lie, if you will — on the part of ABC. There is no such requirement or anything similar in H-1B. The actual, lobbyist-written and convoluted, requirements can be found at 8 U.S.C. § 1184(i). I summarize them as H-1B requires a college degree or equivalent experience.

ABC's fraudulent insertion of "so specialized and complex that the role cannot be filled by a resident in the United States" is designed to mislead the public on what the true nature of H-1B workers is.