There are plenty of H1Bs who are similarly smart but don't want to build weapons though. At the places I worked these folks would always be paid the same as the locals - they really were hired for talent and not to cut costs. Contributors to Linux, GCC, and the like, not your typical software simian. I guess these days one can get an NIW and not work for the Department of Energy?

> There are plenty of H1Bs who are similarly smart but don't want to build weapons though

Which companies are employing H-1B labor to work on presumably ITAR/EAR-regulated articles?

NIW doesnt mean you have to build weapons.

Simple cybersecurity (offensive or defensive) qualifies for NIW, as well as other fields