> Yes, but having H1-B employees may nonetheless open up opportunity for higher paying wages for domestic workers. There isn't strictly a zero sum game here, as

> Yes, but having H1-B employees may nonetheless open up opportunity for higher paying wages for domestic workers. There isn't strictly a zero sum game here, as cheaper skilled labour and more importantly a greater skilled labour supply can make business models viable that otherwise aren't. Sure there are benefits for EMPLOYERS. However, you aren't making a very good case for EMPLOYEES. NAFTA and all the other "free" trade agreements since NAFTA always promised these wonderful benefits to Americans. And those benefits were delivered... provide the American in question was worth $10+ million. But there are entire cities in the Midwest that saw major, devastating declines over the last 20 years as a result. Everything sold to the American public about immigration and the benefits of opening up borders has talked about how wonderful the next new agreement will be for American businesses. Well it turns out the only "American" businesses that benefited are those listed on the NYSE/NASDAQ. Mom/pop businesses have been driven out of business as more and more of their customers have sunk from middle class to lower class. > What is certain though is that every H1-B programmer is a programmer that otherwise would have otherwise been working in another country, and almost certainly at much lower wages. Odds favour that they'll get a job as a programmer. Great. That's fine. Now mind you, I do know the history of immigration in the U.S. And it used to be in general a benefit to more than just the business owner. But the last 25 years have been characterized as a coordinated effort by the 1% to drive everyone else into poverty by making Americans fearful of their jobs being sent overseas, union busting, tax giveaways, and Wall Street financial shenanigans. "Immigration reform" as proposed by Paul Graham is just more of the same. It is clearly just to benefit him and people like him - there is no benefit to anyone else.