It's not a misleading interpretation of the data, it is a misleading interpretation of the purpose of the visa, and not necessarily by the authors alone. They a

It's not a misleading interpretation of the data, it is a misleading interpretation of the purpose of the visa, and not necessarily by the authors alone. They are merely saying that a majority of the people who work on an H-1B visa, do not stay in the U.S. beyond their terms. The H-1B is officially a "Temporary Employment Visa", so, as you say, this was the intent. Where the intent is muddled is in letting H-1B applicants apply for permanent residency permits, but choking the supply of these permits so it takes a decade to get one. I agree with you that there should be a point based system for green cards.