Software developers create software development jobs. H1bs are a contributor to the fact that the US is the center for the software development industry. If companies weren't deciding to headquarter in the bay area to be at the center of things, there wouldn't be nearly as much upward pressure on US developer compensation.
First of all, I don't care about the bay area, I care about the country at large. Secondly, software companies shouldn't be headquartered in the bay area when there are better states. Thirdly, you are wrongfully assuming that they all would leave the US if H-1Bs were curtailed. Fourthly, you don't specify where they would move to and how they could do without access to the labor pool here.
Nope. H-1Bs allow bringing in people from a dozen countries and having them together in an American office. Moving the company to a worse tax and legal environment with worse latency and worse food and weather and entertainment and prestige doesn't mean those workers will all leave their home countries and move there instead. Nor would the locals necessarily even allow that.
EDIT: bro, you're the one that said corporations are mobile, not me. secondly, all of my points still apply to a satellite office. where the headquarters is or where it's incorporated is irrelevant. thirdly, if they still do significant business in the US then the US maintains massive leverage over them anyway. so, try again.
