Three Indian-origin consultants charged in US with H1B visa fraud

The H-1B visa programme allows foreign workers to obtain temporary authorisation to live and work for employers in the US

Three Indian-origin consultants in the US have been charged with visa fraud for submitting sham applications for the popular H1Bs to gain a competitive edge over competing firms.

A federal grand jury last month indicted Kishore Dattapuram, of Santa Clara, Kumar Aswapathi, of Austin, Texas, and Santosh Giri, of San Jose, on 10 counts of substantive visa fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, the Department of Justice said in a statement.

The H-1B visa programme, popular among Indian technology professionals, allows foreign workers to obtain temporary authorisation to live and work for employers in the US.

To secure an H-1B visa, an employer or other sponsor must submit an 'I-129' petition to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

A petition and associated documentation must confirm the existence and duration of the job waiting for the worker, and describe key details including the wages associated with the position.

According to the eight-page indictment, Dattapuram, 49, Aswapathi, 49, and Giri, 42 operated Nanosemantics, Inc, a Santa Clara-based consulting firm whose services included placing skilled foreign workers at software and technology companies in the Bay Area in California.