I guess it's safe to say there won't need to be an H1B lottery next year.

I do think we need a visa category for people who have completed an education in the US. Yes, there's OPT for certain fields for F1 visa holders but it's not enough.

But all that's a part of broader immigration reform that simply won't happen, particularly in this political climate.

As horrible as this all is for those affected, particularly for people who have been waiting patiently in line for 10-20 years, it's also true that:

1. There absolutely is H1B visa abuse, specifically by the bodyshops like Infosys and Tata;

2. H1Bs are used to suppress wages for the entire workforce; and

3. In an era of permanent layoffs and high unemployment in the tech sector, preference should absolutely be given to existing US permanent residents and citizens. That's the declared intent of the H1B program but the reality hasn't really worked that way.

The employers have brought this on themselves and ordinary people will suffer because of it. I do think that if you layoff more than 2% of your staff in any given year, you should be unable to sponsor any visa for a period of 2+ years.