[countrybama24]

The H-1B system should at least be an auction, not a lottery. The companies that use the system to source cheaper replacements for current workers would get priced out of the market and the individuals who contribute the most to the company (and the economy) would get in. Bonus: more revenue would be raised by the government.

[jonny_eh]

An auction based on the salary of the employee. i.e. the money doesn't go to the government, it goes to the person being hired. This also removes the criticism that the H1B is being used to bring in "cheap labour".

[shas3]

This could potentially increase the 'cost-to-company' for each employee. Also, it could well be that an employee is worth a lot to Infosys, Cognizant, or other off-shoring companies who make up a bulk of the H1B applications, and they may be willing to spend enough to be the highest bidder.

[sbierwagen]

Yes, that's the point of the H-1B visa? It's supposed to be used for people with rare and unusual skillsets, the kind of people who command very high salaries; not for offshoring.

  The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States... [that] 
  allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in 
  specialty occupations.

  The regulations define a "specialty occupation" as requiring 
  theoretical and practical application of a body of highly 
  specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including 
  but not limited to biotechnology, chemistry, architecture, engineering[...]