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See my comments regarding the Nursing shortage and H1B visas. First, I would much prefer if a health care facility needs additional nursing staff they go with regular immigrants who will stay in the USA and become citizens here. Sponsoring an immigrant this way makes a great deal more sense from the nation's standpoint we get an educated productive citizen who has a reason to invest and spend in the economy where they will live. H1B visas if used at all should be a very very temporary measure only used until the schools have enough time to turn out a sufficiently trained staff and the health care regulators can accomodate the higher cost structure for the industry.

Being a nurse requires some considerable sacrifices. Nursing staffs need to be there 24 hours a day seven days a week. There are some not inconsiderable risks in the profession including such things as an accidental needle stick (see HIV and many other diseases). That requires compensation.

The starting salary for an associate at a top law firm is six figures for someone just out of school. I ahve heard many argue that Chelsea Clinton getting a starting salary of six figures is reasonable. Some teachers in CT make over $75,000/year.

With nursing one is talking of a hard dangerous job that requires education and training the pay should be commensurate with the demands. It is probable that the attorney for your operation makes more than any nurse employed there. That may or may not accurately reflect what the free market for wages would reflect. One may also be certain that the MD's attending the patients make much more than the nurses. Usually MD's have better hours and working conditions. Nurses need malpractice insurance and continuing education. That will tend to increase the cost of employing a nurse.

The unreasonable health care regulations are the big problem here and that is where your focus should be not on maintaining a harmful program such as H1B for other than a very very short term amelioration of a longer term problem.