Well, I have worked with many H-1B workers and while I've never directly known their salary I have always generally gotten the feeling that they are being paid

Well, I have worked with many H-1B workers and while I've never directly known their salary I have always generally gotten the feeling that they are being paid less than their American counterparts in the same positions. Of course I can't prove this as people are generally hush hush about their salary / pay rate anyways so generally its something thats very hard to prove, just a general feeling I suppose from my own experience. Also, with most jobs I've had so far, I was the one who named the rate I was willing to work for (I'm learning this may not be the best idea, but that's something else entirely), at least some of the H-1B workers are probably naming their own rate and it could very well be less than what the average American developer of the same skil-level would name. In this case, they are willing to work for less which is undercutting overall wages in our industry and legally, I don't believe the employer would even be held liable. Anyone who has worked for companies where they employ H-1B people are free to draw their own opinions, I would just say that if you haven't, you shouldn't assume what the government, etc is saying is correct. That said, if we "opened the floodgates" and let anyone who wanted come here, do you not think that wages would decrease for our (and other) industries? I think its pretty much a fact that it does decrease them to some extent (on average) but the question is really whether its a small amount or an amount that matters.