[SilasX]

Arguably the effect goes the other way: engineers are more productive in SF, so they're worth paying more in SF. (If that weren't the case, then you wouldn't be able to pay engineers enough to want to live there while still making s profit.)

So the GP's policy would still fit the spirit of the H1B program, which is to allow slots for high-output roles.

[jon-wood]

Do you have any numbers at all to back up your belief that proximity to the Golden Gate Bridge somehow increases developer productivity?

[SilasX]

The reason I gave in the post: if it were not the case, you could not bid a high enough wage to both a) make a profit and b) produce a discretionary income attractive to engineers.

If you want a further explanation of why that is, then I would say that it's the proximity to related talent and investors adapted to this kind of work.

Edit: In case it wasn't just a clever attempt at synecdoche: it can't be proximity to the Golden Gate bridge per se that increases productivity, because the North Beach/Marina/Marin tech jobs pay less than SoMa and SV tech jobs.