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Comment by fiatmoney | Hacker News Reader

There is a separate "superstar" visa. The O-1 visa is available to "individuals with an extraordinary ability in the sciences, education, business, or athletics".

The claimed point of H1B is to benefit Americans and the American economy by filling positions which have a temporary shortage, in a way that does not drive down wages. Of course that's not even close to how it works in practice.

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The O-1 visa is extremely difficult to obtain especially in countries which do not have R&D capacity comparable to the US to facilitate the process of obtaining this visa. What about people who develop these "superstar" skills later in life?

It's a moot point on whether H1B helps or hurts the US economy. It's up to the US govt. and eventually the voters to decide what strategies should be adopted in keeping the US at the top the technology sector.

O-1 is for people with a demonstrated extraordinary ability. When they came over, Nadella, Pichai, Khosla, etc. were just students fresh out of college.

What evidence would you have had to bring Nadella over as an O-1?

20 years later sure, he's the CEO of Microsoft.

Most superstars become superstars after coming to USA. O1 is for those who are already superstars in other countries. Countries like India do not offer the same freedom that US does and hence a lot many potential superstars can not enter USA.

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