Maybe 1 in 1000 H1Bs meet this description - the other 999 are just cheap labor.
Agreed. I have family in tech and they complain that most of the visa new hires are barely competent in basic tech, and not at all competent in the advanced tech they were hired to do. This means resources are sidetracked for months bringing the visa people up to speed, which costs the company in production and progress. They are, in fact, a drain instead of an asset. The only plus is that they will work 16 hours a day without complaining for fear they will be let go and have to go home.
That pretty much matches my experience since 2003 ....