I don’t see this as necessarily a problem with the H-1B visa program, but a problem of enforcement. It’s analogous to our overall immigration system; we have immigration laws and regulations, they just aren’t enforced.
The regulations regarding the issuance of H-1B visas is quite clear. The problem is that many companies have found a way to skirt those regulations, the executive branch refuses to enforce them, and Congress (for varying reasons on both sides of the aisle) refuses to compel the executive branch to comply with the law.
Here's the problem:
H-1B Is Designed to Allow Employers to Replace Americans with Cheap Foreign Workers
H-1B Is Designed to Allow Employers to Pay Foreign Workers Extremely Low Wages
A program of egregious misuse for political and economic misuse by Democrats and RINOs alike is bad by its very nature. We simply do not need them.
You are correct. I hired my first H1-b in approximately 1996. We followed the rules. We only hired this person because they had an extremely unique software skill set and we could not find the person we needed at the prevailing rate which was probably $250/hour. It was costly and time consuming to do it the legal way.
Today, it is for people with very common skills at less than $25/hour. Theses companies like TATA and others bring in Indian workers, pay the $10/hour and room them at like 8 to 10 people in a low rent three bedroom apartment.
This is slavery pure and simple. The worker puts up with it because they want their green card. If you leave the plantation you are deported. The slave master will not transfer your H1-b as that removes their power. Stay and work for $10 or be deported, period. So you have an Indian slave and an unemployed American and a CEO with a sick bonus. When the worker eventually gets his H1-b, he is the meanest, nastiest person to deal with because for 5 years he has been raped and he is not happy about it.
The program is bad, very, very bad. It is causing our demise to accelerate exponentially as it is causing high paid professional jobs to be brought down to the level of minimum wage jobs.