I've never seen pay discussed in hitech at the same place as technical competency - and never before such competency is asserted. It is pretty stupid to bargain about something if you have not even a slightest idea how valuable it is. Of course, interviewing for some job where only headcount matters is different.
Employer: "How low can I pay you, and how many hours will you work?"
Candidate: "I can't compete with the H1B slaves."
Employer: "Oh, okay. Then let me give you a tricky whiteboard question and reject you based on that, so you don't sue me."