> I'm not sure how H1B salaries compare to the overall average.

H1B salaries are typically lower than average. Why do you think companies spend millions lobbying for more H1Bs? To pay them more than average? :-)

Also, keep in mind Google only has to disclose base salaries for these H1Bs. For a staff engineer, most of the total comp would be in bonus pay and especially RSUs. They can easily be making $400k or more through those means.

Do you have evidence that people coming on an H1B visa get paid less than their non-H1B coworkers (at same level / same seniority / same office) at Google?

I would suggest that while new hires of H1B might not get paid less, the market dynamics of not having as many alternatives would invariably lead to less valuable retention efforts by the employer. i.e. fewer raises, fewer promotions, smaller bonuses, etc.

As I understand it, H1Bs aren't too bad (transferability is a thing here), but other forms of visas are brutal in this regard.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13579226 is one example. In addition to the article, HN is in near-unanimous agreement on this issue from the contribution of many H1B visa holders. I've seen it pop up many times.

> To pay them more than average?

No, to get a bigger talent pool.