[tivert]

> So why not just grant H1-Bs to the companies that are willing to pay their talent the most?

As others have pointed out, you're assuming highest salary == most valuable, but what your idea will lead to is a bunch of talented people working on new ways to get people to click ads or write yet-another trading algorithm.

IMHO, you'd fix the H1-B program by doing two things:

1. Eliminate the requirement that the visa-holder have a sponsor past the start date, so the they can quit immediately and take a different job if they are underpaid or the working conditions are poor. That will eliminate any potential exploitation enforced by the program.

2. Limit the sponsors to legitimate US-based companies who will employ the workers for in-house work. Working out a precise definition may be hard, but it should be possible because it's pretty clear when we see it. Basically, something to prevent foreign contracting/outsourcing companies from even using the program.

[CalRobert]

I have the opposite experience, I guess, as a US citizen who immigrated to Ireland, but after putting in my two years with the company that sponsored me and getting the right to work without sponsorship I left within a month for a 50% raise (actually more like 150% but I got lucky on stock) and full remote (before full remote was normal).

A lot of the appeal of an immigrant is that they can't quit or take a better deal.

[tivert]

> A lot of the appeal of an immigrant is that they can't quit or take a better deal.

Exactly, the whole point of my proposal is to undermine that appeal. An H1-B program structured like I propose would mean that employers would only sponsor immigrants when they truly can't get employees with the needed skills domestically at the real market rate.

[CalRobert]

We agree! I phrased my response clumsily, I meant my experience was the opposite in that I emigrated from the US instead of immigrating to it. I like living in Europe but it likely came with $2 million or so in opportunity cost, especially since I'm from norcal...