I agree entirely. We should be shortening the path to permanent residency, not stringing out a temporary arrangement indefinitely. Having intelligent foreigners

I agree entirely. We should be shortening the path to permanent residency, not stringing out a temporary arrangement indefinitely. Having intelligent foreigners commit their future to the US is a win for everyone involved. Temporary foreign workers who are expelled after a short period creates an antagonistic relationship with the US, creates instability for workers while they're in the US and sends valuable assets back to their home countries. Also, ratios should be in place to prevent abuse of immigrant visas. Ensuring that employers are only able to utilize immigrant visas when they're already employing a significant majority of Americans is also a win-win and prevents abuses like the consulting companies that hire almost exclusively foreign workers. It also socializes immigrant workers better to ensure that they're not isolated in immigrant groups with little exposure to US culture and language. As an American, I'm less concerned with where someone was born than I am with where they want to live their life, raise their family and retire. The current H1B program doesn't seem aligned with getting immigrants to commit to a life in the US. It seems designed to encourage foreign workers to put their foreign life on hold for a few years to come to the US, make a lot of money (relative to what they'd earn in their own country) before returning to resume their lives there.