The big tech companies have the financial means to invest in anything. They are essentially printing money.
However, which startup can afford an additional cost of 100,000 dollars for a fresh PhD graduate who is essential for their niche?
The true economic benefit of the H1B visa program for the US economy lies in the long tail of smaller firms that require a limited number of specialized personnel, which, by definition, is scarce.
A PhD comes as a student with F1 student visa that expires the day of their graduation.
O1 is unlikely to be granted to a student who has not graduated yet. What are they going to show for evidence? Manuscripts in preparation? Or class grades?
I guess they wouldn't have much to show for evidence. Which is exactly why they would be correctly classified as not being a specialist, and therefore undeserving on an O-1 visa.
These visas are not meant to allow company to hire underpaid employees that quite literally just graduated.
A company conducts a technical interview to assess a candidate. Their public record is not their only criterion of hiring. USCIS relies exclusively on public record (and maybe recommendation letters)
However, which startup can afford an additional cost of 100,000 dollars for a fresh PhD graduate who is essential for their niche?
The true economic benefit of the H1B visa program for the US economy lies in the long tail of smaller firms that require a limited number of specialized personnel, which, by definition, is scarce.