Unique Foreign Talent: The Other Side Of H1B?

helixcode123 writes: "There is often grumbling from U.S. engineers (like me!) about abuses of H1B visas. But what about engineers with exceptional ability that happen to be non-citizens? Isn't it sub-optimal for companies to miss out on the unique talents they bring to a project?
This question is addressed in a New York Times article that features one of Google's top engineers, forced to live outside the U.S. because of immigration laws."