Great post, summarizes the options well.

For completeness, here are a class of Free Trade Agreement visas that are similar to the H1B:

- The E-3 visa for Australians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-3_visa

- The H1B1 visa for those from Chile or Singapore: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H1B_visa (search for 'Chile')

If you are from one of those countries and looking for employment, be sure to bring up those options. These visas are much more attractive to employers because they involve less paperwork/requirements and have priority over the regular H1B cap.