"if an American can do the job, then we don't need a foreigner to come in and do it."

Sure, and there's no outsourcing to India. :-) FWIW I'm a software engineer in the UK, and my last company had contracts with Ford which involved me going out there for a bit. And I'm pretty damn sure that there's enough software engineers in the States already! Still, they let me in, and they let me out again.

What gets me is the double standard. Hilary and Grant, or whoever, aren't going out there on a "cultural exchange" - they're going over there to make money. They're business people, doing what gets them their living. It seems that if your business is standing up in meetings, then fine, go on through - but if your business is standing up in concert halls, fergeddaboudid! I really don't follow that logic in that one.

Graham.