"We are not enforcing H-1B regulations now as a county, we never really have, and despite the best efforts of USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service) and the Department of Labor. I doubt that we ever will," said Morrison.

But Green Cards don't need all the regulatory protections of H-1B workers, because as permanent residents they "have the power of the marketplace, and employers don't have any special advantage over Green Card workers because they are just like American citizens -- they can pick up and leave anytime they want," he said.

"H-1B is a surrender to regulation when the market will solve the problem," said Morrison.

U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), has been that would expand Green Card usage, but also include some protections for U.S. workers from displacement by H-1B employees.

Patrick Thibodeau covers SaaS and enterprise applications, outsourcing, government IT policies, data centers and IT workforce issues for Computerworld. Follow Patrick on Twitter at , or subscribe to . His e-mail address is .