Four Indian-Americans arrested in US for H1B visa fraud
Washington: Four Indian-American executives from two IT staffing companies have been arrested on charges of fraudulently using the H-1B visa programme to gain an unfair advantage over their competitors, the US Justice Department has said.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.
Vijay Mane, 39, Venkataramana Mannam, 47, and Fernando Silva, 53, from New Jersey while Sateesh Vemuri, 52, from California were each charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, the Department of Justice said on Tuesday.
Vemuri made his initial appearance on July 1 before the US Magistrate Judge Steven C Mannion in Newark federal court while Mannam and Silva appeared before the US Magistrate Judge Leda Dunn Wettre in Newark federal court on June 25. Mane appeared before Judge Wettre on June 27.
All accused were released on USD 250,000 bond, the Department of Justice said. The conspiracy charge carries a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine.
According to the Department of Justice, Mane, Mannam, and Vemuri controlled two IT staffing companies-- Procure Professionals Inc and Krypto IT Solutions Inc-- located in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Similarly, Silva and Mannam also controlled another New Jersey staffing company, referred to in the complaint as 'Client A'.
They used Procure and Krypto to recruit foreign nationals and sponsor them for H-1B visas, which allow recipients to live and work temporarily in the US in positions requiring specialised skills.
To expedite their visa applications, the defendants caused Procure and Krypto to file H-1B applications falsely asserting that the foreign worker/beneficiaries had already secured positions at Client A, when, in reality, no such positions existed, federal prosecutors alleged.
Instead, they used these fraudulent applications to build a bench of job candidates already admitted to the United States, who could then be hired out immediately to client companies without the need to wait through the visa application process, giving the defendants an advantage over their competitors in the staffing industry.
The charges against the four comes amid a crackdown on the H-1B programme by the administration of President Donald Trump, which has taken aim at outsourcers and IT staffing companies, and dramatically increased the rate of rejection for H-1B visas.
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Karnataka to convene joint legislative session from Jan 22 to 31 to discuss MGNREGA
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka cabinet on Wednesday decided to convene a joint session of the state legislature from January 22 to 31, where the repeal of MGNREGA by the Centre will be discussed.
While the Congress government initially planned a two-day special session to discuss the repeal of Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which the Centre replaced with Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB—G RAM G), State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil explained that the format was changed due to constitutional requirements.
Briefing reporters, Patil said due to a technical reason, the government is convening a joint session and not a special session.
“The joint session (of Karnataka Legislature) will be held from January 22 to 31. Holidays will be announced by the Speaker.”
Quoting Article 176, he said the Constitution very specifically mentions and mandates the Governor's address on the first day of the session after the election or the first session of each year.
“In view of this technical reason, in fact, we are advancing the session. Instead of a special session, it will be a joint session until further session."
“In the federal system if the rights of the people of our state are snatched, government will not sit idle, it cannot avoid calling a session. Hence, to create awareness and to restore the MGNREGA we will make efforts to put appropriate pressure on the Centre,” the Minister said.
