Yes I do, but not when we are the only nation with an open market. Right now we are being fed upon by Mercantilists from every corner of the globe.
The US Labor market is nearly completely open to all comers. The H-1b's you frivolously dismiss just outsourced SoCon Edison. All of their IT, which is substantial.
Were all of those folks overpaid? Must the US labor market be equalized to the lowest common denominator?
Those we not just coding jobs. They were also job that require physical presence...Network Construction etc.
Since each of you is smugly confident in YOUR abilities, what about your children? Will they be able to compete with somebody at $20/hr? Is that how they will pay off their student loan?
Do you even givva sh!t about the cultural impact?
Are you associated with any political/PAC/Campaign or Chamber of Commerce entity?
I indoctrinated my 2 kids early on. One of them is in law school. Not many foreigners know American law. The other one is studying to be a physician’s assistant. The success or failure in that field will depend on the ability to be a good doctor so you can attract and retain patients.
Computer programming does not require 4 years of college plus 3 or 4 more years of higher education. Do not expect to make $50/hour. Those days are long gone. Massively over-populated countries of China and India have millions of computer programmers walking the streets. If they do not do well in their home countries, they come to USA and can find work because they work so cheap.
As for cultural assimilation, workers coming on H-1B visa are more likely to assimilate than the other one million legal immigrants who gain entry as relatives of naturalized and birth American citizens. Most have no marketable skills. Yet they are given permanent resident status! The H-1B visa is a temporary status. Most do not gain permanent status and go back home.