&gt;look for talent wherever in the world it is available without having to open up offices there<p>It&#x27;s not.  Most large companies already have offices over there and could hire those people tomorrow if they wanted to.  They bring people into the US with their families to have power over them.  A manager without power over skilled people is useless in accomplishing business goals that require those skills.  They also are always trying to accomplish personal goals like getting their friends promoted, getting more power generally at the cost of technical people.  These types of goals tend to make technical people walk away despite any salary level, hence the need for H1B.  Except for body shops, H1B is about power not money or available workforce.