[jweir]

Remote workers present challenges.

Which is worth more a company with 5 employed engineers or 5 oversea contractors?

Managing developers across time zones can be a big problem. If the developer in the Ukraine has a question for a manger asleep in California, he has to wait.

There is no casual connection between people - no going to a bar to talk things over, no stepping away from the computer to talk. All communication is filtered down through the pipes.

[YuriNiyazov]

The larger point of this discussion is that mass immigration presents other challenges, some much harder to overcome. For example, the nightmare that is the political discussion of immigration in the USA, and for another example, the skyrocketing living costs in US cities that are tech hubs.

Trying to solve the problems you outline seem to be technical, which are easier than the fundamental problems of politics or economics.

[nhaehnle]

> Which is worth more a company with 5 employed engineers or 5 oversea contractors?

This is a false dichotomy. You could have 5 on-site contractors or 5 overseas employed engineers.

(However, the rest of your post contains very valid points.)