The H-1B Visa conspiracy

As an IT Architect who has led multiple large scale development engagements, including hiring a large staff of technical resources, I can't help but comment on the fiasco around H-1B Visas.  And because this subject has so much to do with race and culture, I'll state right out of the gate that my opinion has nothing to do with race and culture.  My opinion is based on pure labor economics.

Vivek Wadhwa writes in last weeks Business Week:

The Visa Shortage: Big Problem, Easy Fix

This visa shortage is a problem for U.S. companies that depend on engineers because significantly more foreign-born students than Americans are completing higher degrees in engineering. According to the American Society of Engineering Education (asee.org), foreigners account for nearly 45% of masters-level engineering students and 60% of PhDs. The result? Multinationals have little choice but to expand their engineering operations abroad, and smaller businesses that can't afford to expand overseas are unable to hire the talent they need.   ***snip***

Unlike many of the problems facing the U.S., this one isn't hard to fix. All we need to do is increase the number of visas that are available for international students who get job offers from U.S. companies. An even better solution is to offer these students permanent-resident visas rather than H-1Bs. In the new global landscape, we need the world's best talent on our side.

Let me be very clear on what I think here, this is nothing more than pure, unmitigated, CRAP!  I don't know the last time Mr. Wadhwa has had to hire any technical staff, but I can tell you his article is highly biased to the employer (cheap labor) side of this debate.