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Comment by BiologyRules | Hacker News Reader

You make an interesting point. A master's in the United States, correct me if I am wrong, costs around $50,000. That sum is large for American students, but that sum seems unimaginable for middle class foreigners.

Are we getting the 'best and the brightest' with the H1-B (which we all agree is a good thing), or the richest and wealthiest willing to pay whatever it takes to get a visa?

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Any system that can be gamed, will be gamed once demand is more than supply.

Maybe 10 years ago, the best and the brightest of Indians/Chinese, who studied at the top US schools would have got their H1B in this 20K advanced-degree quota. Not true today.

Though the average Indian/Chinese is poor, there are tens of millions of parents in India/China today who can afford the $50K "investment" for their non-so-bright child. I see this among my affluent relatives and friends in India.

There is an easy way to check this: plotting the applicants of this 20K advanced-degree quota against the US News/other university rankings of their university.

An easy but not perfect way to fix this would be to give the 20K slots to the applicants from the highest ranking universities.

Its not that. Most people who come from middle class families to the US for education go through a lot of struggle. Stuff like 3-4 people sharing a single room, waiting tables at restaurants for money, skipping meals to save etc etc. The list is endless. A few things they do will amaze you.

And then after that they have to go through a period of intense slogging to clear their student loans they would have taken in India. Then comes the H1B struggle to stay in the US to make a living, then the struggle for green card and so on.

By any means of measure these are exceptionally hard working and bright people. And don't go by what the throwaway29 is saying. These are not idiots who landed by luck and are dragging by. And its not as simple as throwaway29 is making it look like, where a few idiots are stealing away the opportunity from Einstein level geniuses.

H-1B visas are paid by the employers not the employees.

Yes, but the original poster indicated that a masters from an American institution is typically required for STEM workers from developing countries. Only the wealthiest, not necessarily the best, can afford those masters degrees.

A lot of lower middle class people from India do come to study in the US. But its a very difficult struggle though.

Define lower middle class -- the median household income in India and China is $3000 and $6000 respectively. What is the average net worth of the households who send students to America?

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