I have seen this happen so often. A large company will want to outsource some of their development to India, hire some shady agency to facilitate this, pay half of the going rate for good talent, then come away with the conclusion "Indian developers are terrible".

Great point. But also, if that’s what happens, that’s the reputation that develops.

"Ed-Edd-n'-Eddy type"

This is now in my lexicon. I loved the show as a kid and this so perfectly captures how I feel about some shops.

"aw man, Plank is sending us PRs now"

Suppose you were looking for good quality foreign contractors. How would you go about finding them?

Upwork, it's one name that springs in my mind. And as any marketplace, it has its slackers and hard workers.

If they are good, they have already moved to the US or some other higher income country. There’s probably a “good quality foreign contractor” living down the road from you.

A significant amount of people don't like to move really far away if they don't have to.

As someone that decided to stay (even after getting visa sponsorship offers), not necessarily (although Uruguay is probably a "higher income country" these days).

Although the good contractors are SWAMPED for work, I definitely have to up my rate.