There is no shortage in skilled labor in the US. These companies just don’t want to invest in Americans. When you’re on a visa your status in the country is tied to your job. Employers can demand from immigrants what they cannot demand from citizens.

I also find it dangerous to rely on foreign talent. Looking at the situation between Canada and India should show you why. If we have a fallout with another country then their citizens will be caught in the middle. This was apparent with the rise in crimes against Asians due to the virus and more surveillance due to concerns on spying.

I think they should make H1B visas totally open, as long as the H1B visa holder is paid max(150% above the industry median, 150% above company median for job type for large corporations (or consulting companies employed by large corporations), 500% above poverty line).

So market prices determine how much of a skill gap there is, and the price incentives doesn’t hurt domestic talent.

I.e. a medical stochastic programmer makes 100k in the market, this large medical company pays 250k, and poverty line is 20k. If you want to hire an H1B for this role, you have to pay them at least max(150, 374, 100)… so 375k minimum. So we could consider the premium for the H1B to represent the skill gap locally, so now companies are incentivized to get local talent, or provide local opportunities.

No more taking a normal role adding requires a PhD in underwater basket weaving, and fluency in a specific language, to tailor a job description to a specific H1B applicant.

Either the talent is missing, and you need it desperately. Or you don’t. Nobody should benefit from a economic discount by hiring H-1B. If they want to do that they can open an office internationally. Just like everybody else does.