"You can imagine our frustration," said Robert Hoffman, vice president of government affairs at Oracle Corp., which, like Microsoft, insisted it has not filed duplicate applications. "We have 1,000 job openings at Oracle we can't fill because of the arbitrary nature of visas and the arbitrary way they are selected."
Have you tried to advertise the 1,000 job openings in local papers accross the U.S.? Or were you banking on H1-B visas so you could get your cheap labor?

Microsoft's Gates cited a recent study by the National Foundation for American Policy that estimated 140,000 jobs were vacant at Standard & Poor's 500 companies and that for each H-1B visa requested, technology firms hire five additional employees.
Maybe these companies are placing "help wanted" ads with the wrong newpapers and Personnel Agencies. Maybe a few "tech agencies" should contact Bill Gates and Robert Hoffman with the names and numbers of prospective American employees waiting for these positions.