H1-B is designed to just be a pool to temporarily fill labor shortages in the US. It's not intended to be the path for PR hence why it's admittedly arbitrary.
I still haven't received the actual card, and have been given no date, no tracking#, no interview, nothing. Just "your petition was approved..go back to your stressful wait because it doesn't mean much until you get the document."
In the meantime I'm not eligible for coverage under ACA, cannot be unemployed over 90 days, cannot leave the country, cannot work on anything to do with a defense contract, cannot risk commenting on politics on social media, etc. All this after I acquired a coveted O1A visa to move back in the first place, after 2 years of working on my company remotely while I was out of status.
This hasn't been "dead simple" as gp implies Canadian merit-residencies are. Not in the slightest. It has been expensive, time consuming and stressful. It's been a constant distraction from my work for longer than the lifespan of most startups in Silicon Valley.
I think that is incorrect. It is expected for F-1 students to move to an H1-B (which allows intent to immigrate) and then move to PR (usually via an EB)
Which means, if you are from India and are waiting in the EB2 queue, you have to painfully maintain H1-B status for 15-20 years.
It seems to me then the real problem is India's brain drain. I don't see how lifting the cap would be good for American workers or the Indian economy.