[roarcher]

> I know an awful lot of skilled people that live in the US

If they already live in the US, they're not applying for an H1B.

[epistasis]

That's false. You can apply for an H1B while in the US (unless there has been another recent and random change to long standing policy for no reason except to make lives miserable).

H1B renewals are also common, and happen within the US.