Let us not forget, Microsoft has another office building in Richmond, BC (4 hours north in Canada). If they're are unable to place a qualified candidate in Redmond, WA; they would just have him work out of Richmond, BC. Is that what we want to see? Loss of tax? Talent? Being a Canadian working in the US, I don't think, pushing talents near-shore (Canada) or off-shore (Rest of the world) is a wise decision to create more jobs for US citizens; but that's just my opnion.

I speak German , Mandarin, and English; however, they have not been beneficial to my career as a software developer in the US/Canada at all.