Two congressional reports, a number of academic studies have shown
       that H-1Bs are paid less than Americans.
     
 Underpayment of H-1Bs is usually done in full compliance with the
       law. The problem is primarily NOT one of lack of enforcement or
       fraud.
     
 The use of foreign workers for cheap labor pervades the entire tech
       industry, including the large, mainstream firms, and including the
       foreign workers hired from U.S. universities. It is NOT limited to
       the "bodyshops."
     
 Age is a core H-1B issue. Most H-1Bs are under 30, and since
       younger workers are cheaper than older ones in both wages and
       health care costs, employers use the H-1B program to avoid hiring
       older (i.e. 35+) Americans.
     
 There is no tech labor shortage. No study, other than those
       sponsored by the industry, has ever shown a shortage. HR
       departments routinely exclude CVs of applicants they deem "too
       expensive"--those that are over age 35 (so managers never see these
       CVs).
     
 The world's "best and brightest" should be welcomed, but only a
       tiny percentage of H-1Bs are in league. Meanwhile, many of our own
       best and brightest are squeezed out of the market once they
       accumulate 10 years or so of experience, and worse, many top
       college students are discouraged from pursuing the field in the
       first place.
     
 Though the industry lobbyists claim that the importation of H-1Bs
       avoids the offshoring of work, the visa is actually used to
       facilitate shipping the work abroad.
     
 The National Science Foundation, a key government agency, actually
       advocated the use of the H-1B program as a means of holding down
       PhD salaries, by flooding the job market with foreign students. The
       NSF added that the stagnation of salaries would push domestic
       students away from PhD study, which is exactly what has happened.
     
 The per-capita rates of entrepreneurship and patents among
       immigrant engineers have been the same as that of the natives. Thus
       the displacement of the American workers has not produced a net
       positive effect.

Proposals to establish fast-track green card programs to retain the
foreign workers are misguided.  First, in the EB-1 green card category,
which is for outstanding talents, waits are short.  Second, and more
importantly, the foreign workers are mostly young, and would still crowd 
out American workers of age 35+ even with green cards.