I haven't done any real research into the whole visa-business, but I really should do that soon;) Is it not true that it's easier to get a visa if you already have a company that has agreed to let you work with them?
To put it another way, I've never seen education shut doors for me. It has, however, given my opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise.
My advice would be to get a 4.0, get a degree, and try to go to graduate school at CMU/Boston/San Francisco area.
It's not going to be as simple as hopping on a plane and getting hired. You have a whole host of visa issues to work out, and if you do it incorrectly, you could jeopardize your chances of staying here long term forever.
One thing I do know is that the last time I checked this year's quota of H-1B visas is not even close to being used up. Normally they're all used up on the first day which is sometime in April.