That's great input from a lot of posters, especially those with first-hand immigration experience. I work with mostly Indians and Chinese, and we all get along nicely. I'd venture to say that yes, the level of expertise is about equal among us.
They're definitely not getting paid strawberry-picker salaries; however, the salary an immigrant PhD or MSEE expects is about what a domestic BSEE would expect. The biggest difference in salary comes with years experience, not from place of origin. I don't know anyone in my field who makes much less than $70k, and the ones buying homes are in two-income family situations where the wife is also an engineer.
In other news, Bushy's immigration bill is being revived. This allows the legalization of an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants. Do you think this is because our leaders really believe that (in Bush's words)
"We must meet our moral obligation to treat newcomers with decency and show compassion to the vulnerable and exploited, because we're called to answer both the demands of justice and the call for mercy."
Or, like me, do yo believe that this flip-flop on immigration is economically motivated?