 "H-1B visa scam: 3 Indian-origin men face 10 years in US for fake job offers")
In a high-profile case of visa fraud, three Indian-origin men have admitted to manipulating the H-1B visa system to secure placements for skilled tech workers in the US.
"Kishore Dattapuram, 55, from Santa Clara, California; Kumar Aswapathi, 55, from Austin, Texas; and Santosh Giri, 48, from San Jose, California, pleaded guilty to charges of visa fraud and conspiracy in a federal court," a press release from the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California on Wednesday revealed.
Their actions were exposed through a detailed investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), with an indictment filed in February 2019.
What is the H-1B visa programme?
The H-1B visa programme allows companies to employ foreign workers for specialised roles in the United States. To secure an H-1B visa, employers file a Form I-129 petition with USCIS, documenting the job role, salary, and other critical details. Each year, with only 85,000 visas available, competition is high.
How did Nanosemantics’ visa fraud scheme operate?
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Dattapuram and Aswapathi owned and operated Nanosemantics, Inc., a staffing firm headquartered in San Jose that provided skilled employees to technology companies in the Bay Area. Under its agreements with the companies and the employees it placed, Nanosemantics received a commission for workers placed at client companies. Giri worked closely with Nanosemantics and was also the owner of a separate business, LexGiri, a legal process outsourcing firm that served as a “remote-virtual corporate immigration specialist” for companies.
In connection with its staffing work, Nanosemantics regularly submitted H-1B petitions for foreign workers. As described in court records, the H-1B visa program allows foreign workers to obtain temporary authorization to live and work for employers in the United States. In order to secure an H-1B visa, an employer or other sponsor must submit a Form I-129 petition to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). 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.
In pleading guilty, Dattapuram admitted to working with Aswapathi and Giri to submit fraudulent H-1B applications that falsely represented that foreign workers had specific jobs waiting for them at designated end-client companies when in fact the jobs did not exist. On multiple occasions, Dattapuram paid companies to be listed as end-clients for the foreign workers, even though he knew the workers would never work for those employers. As the defendants admitted, the goal of the scheme was to allow Nanosemantics to obtain visas for job candidates before securing jobs for them, thereby allowing Nanosemantics to place those workers with employers as soon as those jobs were available, rather than waiting for the visa application process to conclude, and giving Nanosemantics an unfair advantage over its competitors.
The wider effects of H-1B visa fraud
Such fraudulent acts have far-reaching consequences:
Foreign workers: Workers arrive expecting stable employment, only to discover that no job awaits them.
Other applicants: Genuine H-1B visa candidates lose out as fraudulent entries clog the system.
Employers: Companies expecting qualified workers may receive individuals not suited for the roles.
US immigration system: The fraudulent activities weaken the programme’s integrity, impacting opportunities for skilled workers.
Cases of repeated H-1B abuse
This case is not unique. "In one case allegedly involving India's Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, he set up 13 related companies and submitted over 3,000 registrations for around 288 employees. This meant there were more than 10 registrations per applicant, giving them a significant advantage over someone who submitted just one registration. The selected candidates were then rented out to tech companies in the US, with a percentage of the worker's pay collected as commission," Vivek Tandon, Founder and CEO of EB5 BRICS told Business Standard.
“Such activities make the H-1B lottery system a nightmare for genuine applicants, as fraud options become appealing to tech workers eager to work in the US,” he explained.
"The sad fact is that unwarranted desperation will drive people to accept dangerous, illegal and immoral options that may not work in the short term and may permanently destroy their option of trying to work in that country in the future. They may even end up with a criminal record, which will cause problems for them everywhere," said Russell A Stamets, Partner at Circle of Counsels, a Delhi-based law firm.
He added, "Foreign legal systems are usually harsh and not at all sympathetic to special circumstances for migrants, except if someone is seeking asylum".
Measures to tackle H-1B visa fraud
In January 2024, the US announced changes to its H-1B lottery system to reduce fraud and streamline the application process. This overhaul introduces a beneficiary-based selection model, counting each applicant individually, regardless of multiple submissions from different employers. The USCIS hopes this will curb fraudulent tactics like “multiple registration” and ensure fair lottery chances.
“We’re determined to improve fairness in the H-1B process and minimise fraud,” said USCIS Director Ur M Jaddou. She added, “Our goal is to make H-1B selections more equitable and ultimately transition to a fully electronic application process.”
A report by Bloomberg highlighted how this fraud has grown over the years. Between 2020 and 2023, some companies exploited the lottery system by submitting multiple entries for single candidates, giving them a statistical edge over those following the rules. Bloomberg estimates that around 15,500 H-1B visas awarded last year — roughly one in six — were the result of “multiple registration,” prompting urgent calls for reform.