[FreakLegion]

Everything you mention also happens. American investors invest abroad, American companies hire abroad, increasingly Americans even leave the US to found companies abroad. This is all fine, I guess, if you want the money and the jobs and the innovation to leave the US.

What are we really arguing about, though? I don't think there's meaningful disagreement about fixing visa abuses. Disagreement about how to fix them, yes, but not about whether they need to be fixed. So assuming a world where H-1Bs work as intended and bring only the most capable people, not baristas or even low-level IT, to the US, is that still a problem for you?

Personally, I like the idea of a country where the smartest people from around the world come together and do amazing things. Contra rayiner, this is exactly how the modern tech industry was born, and it's been a driving force of the US economy for decades. It's a mystery to me how anyone who wants America to maintain its status in the world can think giving up ground here to Europe or India or China is a good idea. The second-order effects will make your life worse, not better.