I agree, that's the point he was trying to make. I don't agree it's a correct conclusion. Have you read any of the almost-weekly tech interview threads here? O

I agree, that's the point he was trying to make. I don't agree it's a correct conclusion. Have you read any of the almost-weekly tech interview threads here? Or been in a high growth startup where you are interviewing a lot? Just because there are lots of people in the internal labor pool, doesn't mean there are lots of qualified people. When you can reach out to the ROW for your highly skilled talent, why would you limit yourself to less qualified local talent? As an employer, it's [rhetorically] my job to hire the best talent I can find at the best price I can get. (Assuming that is maximally efficient; in some cases less good labor for better prices may be a better calculus. But let's ignore that.) It's the government's job to strike the balance between native employment and immigrant employment. If the H1B pool is consumed each year, I'd say they are doing a reasonably good job at it. If it's consumed, that means there are plenty of folks denied, for lack of quota. Those are jobs that end up filled by less qualified native talent.