ComputerWorld provides some coverage of the coming changes to the H-1B program, announced in December 2004, which allows US companies to hire foreign professional workers. "The H-1B Equation" discusses wage differentials (which only seem to exist within job shops) between H-1B workers and American workers.
The main article also covers the modifications that will be coming to the program on March 8, when an additional 20,000 annual visas will be granted (and quickly spoken for, if the predictions I'm reading are true) for Master's or higher level graduates of US colleges and universities..
According to author Patrick Thibodeau, participating companies will pay a higher rate for applications and must "pay 100% of a prevailing wage for new and extended H-1B petitions."
Here's an H-1B overview page on the Web site for the Department of Labor:
http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/h-1b.asp
This coverage, on the site of Berry, Appleman & Leiden LLP, a legal firm that specializes in these sorts of matters, offers a quick rundown on the updates to the program:
