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« The State of Third-Party Logistics in 2008 | Main | Light Friday: Podcar City, Telepathy Helmet, Strummin' Through Brain Surgery... »
October 16, 2008
H-1B Visa Program Fraught with Fraud
There are plenty of problems relating to the H-1B visa program, as many IMT readers have claimed. Now those who believe that companies are scamming the system have actual data to support their claims.
As IMT noted earlier this year, demand for H-1B visas dramatically exceeds supply. In April 2007, the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS), a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), stopped taking applications for fiscal 2008's allotment a mere one day after filing began, when it was flooded with a reported 120,000-150,000 requests for the 65,000 slots available for H-1B visas.
But just how many of those are legit? Most people can agree there are plenty of problems, including fraudulent activity, in the H-1B program. But how much?
Until now, there has been surprisingly scarce solid data on the H-1B program. A new report by the USCIS marks the first time a government agency has documented systematic problems with the controversial program.
The USCIS report, released this month by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), reveals a violation rate of 20.7 percent in the nation's H-1B visa program. Specifically, the H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment (BFCA) report has found that 13.4 percent of petitions filed for H-1B visas on behalf of employers are fraudulent. Another 7.3 percent contain some sort of technical violations. These findings are based on a sample of 246 cases.
According to the report:
There were a total of 51 cases within the sample of 246 H-1B petitions that were confirmed as representing fraud, a technical violation, and/or multiple technical violations. These 51 cases contain final determinations of either fraud or technical violation(s).
Extrapolating from this sample, the DHS estimates there were "approximately 13,000 petitions that may be fraudulent" and approximately 7,000 petitions that might contain "some sort of technical violation," out of approximately 96,827 petitions filed in a six-month period (Oct. 1, 2005-March 31, 2006).
The study found two types of fraud: "willful misrepresentation, falsification or omission of a material fact" and a second type where there was no willful fraud but "there was evidence that the employer or alien beneficiary failed to comply with applicable laws and regulations."
Among the types of misrepresentations uncovered through the BFCA cases: fraudulent educational degrees or experience letters submitted; forged signatures on supporting documentation; visa holders who had never worked at the location given in the application; and workers paid below the prevailing wage.
One of the most blatant misrepresentations cited by the study was in a case in which the H-1B visa worker was "performing duties that were significantly different from those described" on the application.
Says the report:
In one instance, the position described on the petition and LCA was that of a business development analyst. However, when USCIS conducted its review, the petitioner stated the H-1B beneficiary would be working in a laundromat doing laundry and maintaining washing machines.
Accounting, human resources, business analyst, sales and advertising were among the occupations most likely to involve fraud, though problems were also documented with managerial and computer-related occupations.
In fact, companies engaged in professional, scientific and technical services make up 52 percent (128 cases) of the sample. Among this sample, 27 percent (35 cases) were associated with some type of fraud or technical violation(s). This category includes companies whose work involves computer software engineering/development contracting.
The overwhelming majority of the petitions in the BFCA sample were filed in behalf of beneficiaries who already held H-1B visas.
The study concludes its findings by saying that, "given the significant vulnerability," the USCIS will be making "procedural changes" to amend these violations and that they will be described in a future document.
Earlier
Nothing New: High H-1B Visa Demand Expected
Resource
H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment
United States Citizenship & Immigration Services, Oct. 8, 2008
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9 CommentsWhen buying and selling are controlled by the legislature; the FIRST thing that will be bought and sold IS the legislature...
'Twas ever thus
October 16, 2008 8:32 PMOutsourcing/Insourcing of Indians by fraud/abuse has destroyed at least 20 million American Middle class jobs in last 20 years. There are thousands of Indian Bodyshops in USA. Only job is to sponsor H1, L1, TN and all kinds of visa.
Corporates can not exist if this middle class does not exist. Because of the careless behavior of the Congressman and Senators, the country lost 25 million IT and Engineering jobs in last 20 years which is equivalent of $1 Trillion dollars.
One thing I just want to point out to you which is very critical for the whole IT industry. This is most common scenario where all H-1B and L1 are getting into IT jobs: As a real scenario, when Disney has openings for 5 contract Java programmers, they ask vendors (recruiters) to submit resumes. BODYSHOPS around the USA start submitting 100s of resumes to the client. Now suppose client has 300 resumes in front of them for 5 openings. Of them only 20 may be US citizen and the rest are H-1B, L1, TN, J1, L2 visa holders sponsored by some Indian Bodyshops. This is the real scenario I have been seeing for last 10 years.
Now you think that the Disney client does not care whether he is a US citizen or not. They do not care since they are hiring contractor only. The bodyshop is handling all the hassles of keeping that H-1B guy in payroll and immigration issues. This is a real disaster for US citizens. L1 and L2 and H1 and TN visa program are the greatest killers of American middle class.
Outsourcing/Insourcing destroyed at least 25 million American Middle class jobs in last 25 years.
Corporates can not exist if this middle class does not exist. Because of the careless behavior of the Congressman and Senators, the country lost 25 million IT and Engineering jobs in last 20 years which is equivalent of $1 Trillion dollars.
Because of the carelessness act of senators and congressman, people lost their house, wife, kids, everything........... . They did not protect the US/Mexico borders, which brought 13 million Mexican illegals into USA. They did not prevent H-1B / L1 visa abuse/fraud which brought 12 million Indians.
I can guarantee that the only reason for Corporate collapse in USA is because of Outsourcing of all high-paid middle class jobs to India and China and Insourcing of 12 million Indians into USA by H1 and L1 visa. That has cost $1 trillion dollars in middle class income loss. If middle class was strong, this problem would not happen. People did not have to do forclosure, they did not have to file bankruptcy. Now middle class is runing hand to mouth, paycheck to paycheck. Everyday Corporates are firing Americans and hiring people in India and China. Bill Gates, Intel, IBM, TCS, Infosys are the people who destroyed American Middle class. They are firing people here in USA and hire people in India/China.
80% of H-1B and L1 visa holders are average Joes. Even many of them do have any skills at at all. They just come to USA through some bogus[bodyshops] company. Many of them use fake degree or certificates from India. H-1B rule just need a degree certificate from any country in the world. That is really weired.
There is no skill check for these H-1B applicants. Anybody with a degee in sociology or psychology or accounting, etc can get a H-1B as a Software Engineer or Oracle DBA. And also he may not know anything about Java or Oracle DBA. It is just a way for him to get an H-1B visa and get a job. Then he may start learing technologies in the job. We need to filter these people out.
More issues and more clearly:
Problem:
1. 70% H-1B visa holders are not skilled.
2. 80% H-1B visa holders work in Bodyshop business (and sub-contracting).
3. H-1B visa holder is used to replace American Citizens in many cases.
4. Right now, the employers do not put Ad in the newspapers for IT openings. They hire H-1B as contractors and then hire them as employee later.
5.There are no TEST/Skill test to verify the skill.
6. Anybody with a degree certificate(real or fake) can apply for H-1B visa.
7. H-1B program has created a huge Labor Contracting business in USA.
8. H-1B visa holders train their wife and put them into IT jobs who does not have any skills. These women do not have any skills and sometimes they do not have H-1B visa. There are thousands of examples in Silicon Valley or Dallas.
9. This programs H1/L1/J1/L2/H2 visa programs brought over 12 million people mainly from India into USA.
10. 25 million people came from Pakistan as Afghan Refugee in the 1980s. With their kids now it is 100 million.
11. L1 and L2 visa holder can apply for H-1B.
12. TCS brings people with L1/L2 visa. Then they apply for H-1B and leave TCS. This is a continuous process of Indian immigration into USA (loop hole used by Attorneys).
13. American college kids are not able to get into IT due to influx of H-1 visa holders and big Indian companies bringing thousands of L1/L2 people from India.
14. It has created a huge labor contracting business in USA which is hurting US workers to find a good paying job and support their family. Which mean americans are getting poor day by day.
Solution:
1. Suspend all H-1B visa program (no new visa) for next five years.
2. No H-1B visa transfer should be allowed for now.
3. H-1B visa should go to End Clients only. Sub-leasing of H-1B to other companies should be banned right now to save America.
4. H-1B visa should not go to Staffing company and Indian Bodyshops like TCS, Infosys.
5. TCS, Infosys, Convansys, Whipro, must hire US citizens and train them for the job.
6. No renew of H-1B visa unless they pass Skill Test mentioned in LCA and resume.
7. Corporations should post all job Ads in national newspapers every week and hire US citizens and train them with new skills.
8. Suspend all L1 visa program until fraud is fixed.
9. L1 visa must be issued by name not blanket.
10. DOL and USCIS must work together to make sure that only "Skilled" people can come
with H-1B visa.
11. Anybody can have a degree certificate in any country. That does not mean that he is a skilled IT professional or Engineer. That can not be enough to issue a visa.
12. L1 and L2 visa holder should not be able to convert to H-1B. This is one big problem.
13. Indian companies(bodyshops) should be investigated vigorously for their H-1B hiring practice.
October 16, 2008 11:38 PM27 years at the Univ. of Chicago and laid off while H-1b were retained. Being a vet, having more than 3x the experience at the position, being a U.S. citizen didn't matter. All that mattered was being an indentured servant. Subsequent applications for 82 positions produced no interviews. Much later found 208 approvals for H-1b visa during a one-year lay-off period for positions I once held and doing work I once did. Lost was retirement benefits from a lifetime of dedicated work and faith in the goodness of this country. One of the retained visa holders had fraudulently indicated he had a PhD from Italy. Not a thing was done to him or the university when the seventh federal judiciary in Chicago was notified.
October 17, 2008 11:36 AMIn addition, there is no need for foreign STEM workers, domestic graduates exceed job growth.
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2008/06/19/ldt.tucker.h1b.visas.cnn
October 18, 2008 1:02 AMIf the Durbin Grassley legislation were passed, many of these problems would be resolved.
The H-1b is a body shopping visa - in short it has become a visa for temporary workers at IT staff augmentation shops.
The Durbin Grassley legislation would prohibit outplacement of workers. It would have stricter salary requirements.
However, based upon this new revelation of high degrees of fraud I believe the program should be temporarily halted until the program is reformed.
I also believe that the immigration lawyers are complicit here - and major law firms need to be investigated.
October 18, 2008 10:16 AMMore like an 80% Fraud Rate:
H1-B is the largest immigration fraud in American history.
The corporate criminals who are using this program are saving $20 Billion per year in direct payrolls, and
are probably saving another $20 Billion per year in that they are able to push down the salaries of US workers.
Congressional corruption is the immediate problem here.
We would not have an H1-B program at all, if it were not
for payoffs and lobbying.
-Dave D'Rave
I am wondering if there is a common place to report about fraudulent cases. I can easily provide specific examples of both these body shops as well as individuals.
Being a born Indian, educated in the US, I really felt the pain (due to unfair competition from these body shops and fraudulent individuals) when I entered the job market.
As long ago as 15 years, many practicing engineers were identifying the H1-B program as an unmitigated disaster waiting to happen.
The most important thing that I can see for
practicing engineers to do now is to identify the buttons to push in order to resolve this
disaster. Maybe a new administration will be
more willing to listen to reason.
India is a mess. It's that simple, but it's also quite complicated. I'll start with what I think are India's four major problems--the four most preventing India from becoming a developing nation--and then move to some of the ancillary ones.
First, pollution. In my opinion the filth, squalor and all-around pollution indicates a marked lack of respect for India by Indians. I don't know how cultural the filth is, but it's really beyond anything I have ever encountered. At times the smells, trash, refuse and excrement are like a garbage dump. Right next door to the Taj Mahal was a pile of trash that smelled so bad, was so foul as to almost ruin the entire Taj experience. Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai to a lesser degree were so very polluted as to make me physically ill. Sinus infections, ear infection, bowels churning was an all-too-common experience in India. Dung, be it goat, cow or human fecal matter was common on the streets. In major tourist areas filth was everywhere, littering the sidewalks, the roadways, you name it. Toilets in the middle of the road, men urinating and defecating anywhere, in broad daylight. Whole villages are plastic bag wastelands. Roadsides are choked by it. Air quality that can hardly be called quality. Far too much coal and far too few unleaded vehicles on the road. The measure should be how dangerous the air is for one's health, not how good it is. People casually throw trash in the streets, on the roads. The only two cities that could be considered sanitary in my journey were Trivandrum--the capital of Kerala--and Calicut. I don't know why this is. But I can assure you that at some point this pollution will cut into India's productivity, if it already hasn't. The pollution will hobble India's growth path, if that indeed is what the country wants. (Which I personally doubt, as India is far too conservative a country, in the small 'c' sense.)
The second issue, infrastructure, can be divided into four subcategories: roads, rails and ports and the electrical grid. The electrical grid is a joke. Load shedding is all too common, everywhere in India. Wide swaths of the country spend much of the day without the electricity they actually pay for. Without regular electricity, productivity falls again. The ports are a joke. Antiquated, out of date, hardly even appropriate for the mechanized world of container ports, more in line with the days of longshoremen and the like. Roads are an equal disaster. I only saw one elevated highway that would be considered decent in Thailand, much less Western Europe or America. And I covered fully two thirds of the country during my visit. There are so few dual carriage way roads as to be laughable. There are no traffic laws to speak of, and if there are, they are rarely obeyed, much less enforced. A drive that should take an hour takes three. A drive that should take three takes nine. The buses are at least thirty years old, if not older. Most in India, or who travel in India, rave about the railway system. Rubbish. It's awful. Now, when I was there in 2003 and then late 2004 it was decent. But in the last five years the traffic on the rails has grown so quickly that once again, it is threatening productivity. Waiting in line just to ask a question now takes thirty minutes. Routes are routinely sold out three and four days in advance now, leaving travelers stranded with little option except to take the decrepit and dangerous buses. At least fifty million people use the trains a day in India. 50 million people! Not surprising that waitlists of 500 or more people are common now. The rails are affordable and comprehensive, but they are overcrowded and what with budget airlines popping up in India like Sadhus in an ashram, the middle- and lower-classes are left to deal with the overutilized rails and quality suffers. No one seems to give a damn. Seriously, I just never have the impression that the Indian government really cares. Too interested in buying weapons from Russia, Israel and the U.S., I guess.
The last major problem in India is an old problem and can be divided into two parts that've been two sides of the same coin since government was invented: bureaucracy and corruption. It take triplicates to register into a hotel. To get a SIM card for one's phone is like wading into a jungle of red-tape and photocopies; one is not likely to emerge from in a good mood, much less satisfied with customer service. Getting train tickets is a terrible ordeal, first you have to find the train number, which takes 30 minutes, then you have to fill in the form, which is far from easy, then you have to wait in line to try and make a reservation, which takes 30 minutes at least and if you made a single mistake on the form back you go to the end of the queue, or what passes for a queue in India. The government is notoriously uninterested in the problems of the commoners, too busy fleecing the rich, or trying to get rich themselves in some way shape or form. Take the trash for example, civil rubbish collection authorities are too busy taking kickbacks from the wealthy to keep their areas clean that they don't have the time, manpower, money or interest in doing their job. Rural hospitals are perennially understaffed as doctors pocket the fees the government pays them, never show up at the rural hospitals and practice in the cities instead.
I could go on for quite some time about my perception of India and its problems, but in all seriousness, I don't think anyone in India really cares. And that, to me, is the biggest problem. India is too conservative a society to want to change in any way. Mumbai, India's financial capital is about as filthy, polluted and poor as the worst city imaginable in Vietnam, or Indonesia--and being more polluted than Medan, in Sumatra is no easy task. The biggest rats I have ever seen were in Medan!
One would expect a certain amount of, yes, I am going to use this word, backwardness, in a country that hasn't produced so many Nobel Laureates, nuclear physicists, imminent economists and entrepreneurs. But India has all these things and what have they brought back to India with them? Nothing. The rich still have their servants, the lower castes are still there to do the dirty work and so the country remains in stasis. It's a shame. Indians and India have many wonderful things to offer the world, but I'm far from sanguine that India will amount to much in my lifetime.
Now, have at it, call me a cultural imperialist, a spoiled child of the West and all that. But remember, I've been there. I've done it. And I've seen 50 other countries on this planet and none, not even Ethiopia, have as long and gargantuan a laundry list of problems as India does. And the bottom line is, I don't think India really cares.
March 28, 2009 11:53 PM
