Well, it’s going to continue because the GOP is happily taking bribes from the Chamber of Commerce to make sure that foreigners get those jobs, while the Democrats are worrying about how to give the rest of our jobs to illegals.
There are two side to this. American companies want to take Americans to work in foreign countries, too, and we rely on them giving work permits to our citizens. I have worked in New Zealand, Indonesia, Pakistan, Korea, Oman, Qatar, Canada, and Saudi Arabia. Every one of those countries had to grant me a work visa equivalent to our H1B.
Why do companies like to bring their long-time employees to foreign operations? Simple, they know the company’s ropes. As time goes by and local talent is developed, they slowly displace the imported managers.
The point being that work visas are useful, valid instruments of policy that reciprocate the consideration we expect from others.
Of course, like anything else, abuse is possible and must be guarded against. There must be a valid bona fide need for the foreign worker.
H1B visas for foreign workers for a US based company would appear to me to be almost impossible to justify. I would like to know what percentage of these visas are granted to people going to work for US companies before I would condemn the entire program.