> As a manager I was told I can hire more people outside the US and was recommended to only hire in the US if I find someone who we really don't want to pass on. In other words, top talent would be OK, everyone else would have problems.

This is exactly what it turned into for us. We were encourage to hire most people outside of the US but to leave space for exceptional US candidates.

It’s a hard incentive to ignore when you can hire twice as many people within the same budget by going international remote.