No, that wouldn't work.
Number 1: $150K isn't really a big multiplier over average engineer wage in the Silicon Valley - maybe 1.25X
Number 2: The HR departments would find ways of gaming the system by playing games with pay. For example, they would take away H-1B visa holder health insurance, and make them pay for the program out of their own pocket. That, and other transition of overhead costs to the engineer's responsibility would take care of the cost multiplier quickly. EVEN WORSE: they'd start to apply the same cost transfers to U.S. Citizens, just to "be fair and even-handed".
Number 3: You assume all H-1B visa hiring is done for cost reasons. NO. Many times it is an Indian engineering manager insisting on only hiring other Indian engineers. This $150K minimum would be HEAVEN for them - they'd get to use the same old tricks to exclude Americans from hiring, but then boost up their salary by the aforementioned 1.25 or so multiplier.
The only way to END H-1B visa abuse is to KILL THE PROGRAM. You have no idea how many people out here study all the ways to game ANY program available.
>Number 3: You assume all H-1B visa hiring is done for cost reasons. NO. Many times it is an Indian engineering manager insisting on only hiring other Indian engineers. This $150K minimum would be HEAVEN for them - they’d get to use the same old tricks to exclude Americans from hiring, but then boost up their salary by the aforementioned 1.25 or so multiplier.
And kill the company that hiring so many Indians. I’ve worked with Indian software developers, I’m not impressed.