I believe we do have enough engineers. There are not enough US engineers so we give 65,000 H1-B visas per year to foreigners plus 20,000 per year to international graduate students of U.S. universities. In the late 90s the quota was 140,000. With the current economy I see no reason to increase it to that level again. Keep in mind that the H1-B visa is not limited to engineers. The visa is for “specialty labor” and the minimum requirement is to have a college degree. Back in the late 90s with such a large quota and pre-9/11 it was fairly easy to get one if you had a job offer and a good lawyer.
From Homeland Security:
What is an H-1B?
The H-1B is a nonimmigrant classification used by an alien who will be employed temporarily in a specialty occupation or as a fashion model of distinguished merit and ability.
What is a specialty occupation?
A specialty occupation requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge along with at least a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. For example, architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine and health, education, business specialties, accounting, law, theology, and the arts are specialty occupations.
