I would suspect your case is not so typical. In fact the costs are such that companies like IBM and GE can bring programmers in from overseas, ostensibly for tr

I would suspect your case is not so typical. In fact the costs are such that companies like IBM and GE can bring programmers in from overseas, ostensibly for training purposes, but in fact for working on projects in the US. I've been on the hiring side of this, having paid "body shops" 100-130/hr. for talented folks who were always eager to jump ship for even just a steady 80-90K per year. Those brought in by the large outfits knew they could literally jump ship if someone were to obtain an H1-B for them. I've also witnessed the green card "process" first hand within my own family. The numbers don't lie, programmers working in the same job while waiting for their green cards are paid consistently far less than the legal cost would warrant. Mind you my experiences were all from the 1998-2004 time period, things may have changed since. Back then the body shops were grabbing the lion's share of the visas when the quota opened up annually.