>the employer has had to prove that there are no unemployed locals availible to do the work.
They do, the solution is to advertise for C++ programmers in the Wichita pigeon fancier weekly and show that you received no replies.
>that the dev here had to take the employer to court for a measly payout suggests that the US condones this behaviour.
There was a certain 'push back' on their previous slave labour system so they modified it.
>considering the lost taxes and associated benefit to the state from healthcare/pensions etc then employing externally means that this is money/benefit lost to the state and civillians.
Employing temporary immigrants is a net good for the state's income. They were raised and educated at somebody elses expense, they pay taxes to you and then leave before receiving any of the benefits.
Crack down on it too much and they move the jobs abroad and you lose out on both the taxes and all their spend in the local economy.
The company gets to employ cheap labour and drive down the cost of competing local labour, the government gets to keep the tax take - everybody important wins.