Dear Readers:

Last year in this space I drew fire from anti-immigrant groups because I made a point of disputing specific facts cited in a story on business immigration story on CNN’s daily show Lou Dobbs’ Tonight. Dobbs’ show kicks off CNN’s prime time schedule and its anchor is one of CNN’s major figures. Dobbs has since broadcast dozens of stories on immigration and most immigration experts who watch his show know what to expect – universally negative coverage that looks like it was written by the anti-immigrant groups themselves. I’ve pointed this out numerous times here and on our web site’s blog.

Others are noticing as well and beginning to take CNN to task. One of the best reviews we’ve seen is Peter Hart’s recent analysis of several months of Dobbs’ show for FAIR, the media watchdog group (this FAIR stands for Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting and should certainly not be confused with FAIR – the anti-immigrant Federation for American Immigration Reform). You can find Mr. Hart’s piece at http://www.fair.org/extra/0402/dobbs.html.

This week we took the rare step of issuing a special newsletter to our readership alerting them to the fact that the H-1B quota was hit just five months into the fiscal year. You won’t hear from Lou Dobbs how critical medical research in this country will slow as a result of the H-1B cap. Nor will you hear about public schools across the country that won’t have enough teachers this fall because they can’t get needed teachers visas. The same is true for the people of the small town that won’t get that doctor they’ve been counting on. We’ll do our best to keep you up to date with what is really happening. And when Congress takes up the issue of fixing the H-1B visa program, we’ll provide you with the information you need to make your voices heard in Washington.

Speaking of caps, the American Immigration Lawyers Association is reporting this week that another visa may cap out soon. The H-2B is the temporary visa that is available to both skilled and unskilled workers coming to fill short-term positions where employers can show Americans are unavailable. This is, in many ways, at the root of President Bush’s guest worker proposal. The key difference is that employers will not have to show the positions are temporary in nature. But much of the rest of the program mirrors the H-2B program. This is the first time the cap for H-2B visas has been reached, yet another indicator that the American economy is heating up.

Finally, as always, we remind readers that we're lawyers who make our living representing immigration clients and employers seeking to comply with immigration laws. We would love to discuss becoming your law firm. Just go to http://www.visalaw.com/intake.html to request an appointment or call us at 800-748-3819 or 901-682-6455.

Regards,

Greg Siskind