ive got into the us on an O1 and now have a EB1 green card. i also founded a fairly big agency in Denmark hiring people from around the world so yeah I would say i have experience :)
I think it depends on a lot of factors. i.e. how much money you have, education background, prior experience and very significantly the country you're coming from.
Not to discount your experience, i am sure you've been through a lot of paperwork (i know i sure have, and i'm yet to meet someone who enjoys immigration departments!) but the US is pretty damn tough if you are not a) wealthy and/or b) highly educated and in demand.
I think you are ignoring the time to PR part.
EB1 current processing time is 8 month (and you have to have 1 mil) the requirements are very strict
You can buy a 500K property in Cyprus/Portugal etc and become resident (latvia 250K)without any requirement to run a business or hire people etc.
Cmon H1B is done once a year and there is lottery with 50% chance of wining (spouse can not work)
E visa are business visas and only for people from treaty trader countries plus they do not convert to PR
L visas you have to work for the subsidiary for 1 year there is a limit on L visa length
In Czcech Republic, Estonia etc. you need 10K to get residency through business and there are no requirements to hire people etc.
I am not ignoring anything. I have tried both hiring into the EU and from EU to the US.
Also you need to make the proper comparison with EU not just cherry pick a few countries. I can cherry pick countries to where it's very hard (try Denmark for instance).
My claim was EU vs US again 11 million illegal immigrants living here and for a large part contributing to the economy that alone would never happen in the EU.
And you don't need 1Million for a EB1. It's a merrit based greencard (just like O1 visa is)