Uh, hello? Almost any one of Microsoft's mainstream product lines is bigger than Facebook. Office vs. Facebook? Office. Windows vs. Facebook? Windows. Xbox vs. Facebook? Xbox. MSN Search vs. Facebook? Probably MSN Search.
Congratulations are due to Facebook for managing to scale their one product, pre-business-model, without H1-B's.
I'm not an advocate for H1-B visas (though we could have a spirited debate about their merits vs. offshoring), but this is a pretty silly article.
Being opposed to immigration is different from opposing H1B. I'm not a big fan of H1B but I would pave the road with gold for more talented developers and scientists to come work in America.
One change I would make to H1B would be to auction them to companies instead of granting them. That would shut up the cries of "We can't hire anyone". If you really can't find anyone in the US at any price, you'd happily bid on an H1B to find someone. If you're just a cheapskate and don't pay market wages, then why do you think you should be able to rip off foreign citizens?
Sure I do. I just don't want special-interest employer exemptions from immigration law that deliberately creates an artifically cheap supply of temp workers.
The alternative to H1B is offshoring, which is clearly worse than immigration.
If your line of work is such a commodity that the wage goes down to zero as the number of workers increases then you're not in very good shape already.
Take lawyers. Even when there are far too many people who meet the minimal qualifications, the better ones still get payed a huge amount because those who are paying them recognize the value of quality.
There will still be lots to exclude outsiders from higher pay even if it becomes easer for them to get in.
Then you're dismissing the entire argument against them. The primary problem people have with H1Bs isn't protectionism, it's that H1Bs are held hostage by their employers (even after 2000, it is tricky for many visa holders to change jobs and retain legal working status).
The result is that the market for H1B labor is corrupted in favor of employers, perverting the fair market wage for developers. Prior to 2000, there were all sorts of horror stories about poorly trained tech workers living in dorms working for half the prevailing wage; they were probably not all made up.
It is difficult to change companies if you are on L1B (intra-company transfer from a foreign country). If you are on H1B, you can change any time.
I am just curious to find out why people think L1Bs/H1Bs are cheap labor. May be it is a popular myth?
I came here in 2003. I was getting above "market salary" even then. Now I get way more - about twice the market salary (I've got skillz man! :-p) - which is the only reason I am hesitating to quit my job to do my startup full time.
I know many people who are on L1B and H1B. I don't know of even one underpaid person! USCIS is really strict on reviewing your W2s. Even the supposedly hostage L1Bs are payed fair salary. May be the situation was bad before 2000 and has been since corrected? I don't know.
Congratulations are due to Facebook for managing to scale their one product, pre-business-model, without H1-B's.
I'm not an advocate for H1-B visas (though we could have a spirited debate about their merits vs. offshoring), but this is a pretty silly article.