content: It's not just cheap labor but also driving wages down. If there were no H-1B's then there would be only so many people to go around and they'd be in great demand. Imagine what companies would be willing to offer you if instead of having to go out looking for a job, they'd be desperately tracking you down. You'd get letters from XYZ stating that they see you graduated from the University of Wherever in IT or CS or something, and they would like to talk to you about an open job position.