I wonder how many folks working in startup-land have ever seen a H1B-farm company operating in the US. I have seen qualified US candidates turned down ... becau

I wonder how many folks working in startup-land have ever seen a H1B-farm company operating in the US. I have seen qualified US candidates turned down ... because they were too expensive. Anyone looking for over $130k is too expensive. Instead, the company hires a string of H1B employees. The day they show up, the company starts the green card process, and they basically work there for years until it comes through. The average developer is ... average, but they do a lot of GUI customization for users, so they don't need to be very good. The company is trading a public good (right to work in the US) to an employee in return for their willingness to work at a "below-market wage" for long periods of time. I don't know how you can look at this arrangement as anything but a disadvantage to US tech workers. You could say that a company like this would eventually go out of business given the lack of intensity behind the development of their products, but there's something to be said for keeping your costs rock bottom as a long-term strategy.