No, that's what the H-1B has been for. This has been exploited in the USA for at least a decade now. There have been several attempts to raise the H-1B limit, but there has also been pushback on this.
The H-2B "seasonal worker" aspect may be what's being loopholed here. Is that nuclear physicist of yours a seasonal worker who only does nuclear work during the harvest season, for instance?
-PJ
I’m quoting the law here — please see below. As I said in the beginning this H2B visa can apply to anyone. If they stay “temporarily” ie they stay, leave, and come back. They are free to do it all over again. Indians working for the big technology outsourcing firms do this all the time.
“The H2B classification applies only to aliens who are coming temporarily to the United States to perform non- agricultural service or labor of a temporary or seasonal nature, other than graduates of medical schools coming to provide medical services, if unemployed persons capable of performing such work cannot be found in the United States.”