Whistle-blower tells of Illegal B1 Visa Abuse at Infosys, Walmart, Goldman Sachs

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Infosys Ltd. customers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Johnson Controls Inc., Goldman Sachs and American Express Co. (AmEx), could be dragged into the controversy over alleged violations of visa rules by the company.


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Testimony before US Senate targets Infosys - via WSJ livemint


According to testimony by whistle-blower Jack Palmer before a US Senate Congress subcommittee on Tuesday, these companies hosted on their work sites multiple B-1 visa holders who were working as full-time Infosys employees, which is in direct violation of US immigration law. The testimony, given at a hearing before the immigration subcommittee on “the economic imperative for enacting immigration reform” is the first time that Palmer has come out publicly on issues relating to his lawsuit against Infosys filed in February. He has accused the firm of sending Indian workers to the US to work full time in violation of American immigration law as a profit-making strategy.

Palmer alleged that Infosys had created an open computer system—accessible by any Infosys employee—to create “fraudulent work letters” for B-1 visa-holding employees, who would subsequently be issued debit cards to pay them their Indian salary and to cover expenses for the duration of their work in the US. After obtaining a work invitation letter from a client—which would “falsely set out the reasons for the visit”—and securing the contract, Infosys would send the employee to the US to work full time on client sites.

Palmer also stated that Infosys had created an internal website dedicated to outlining “do’s and don’ts”, which were tips on how to get employees successfully through visa interviews and US immigration “undetected”, which included such tips as: “Do not mention activities like implementation, design and testing, consulting, etc., which sound like work. Also, do not use words like, work, activity, etc., in the invitation letter. Please do not mention anything about the contract rates as you’re on a B-1 visa.”

“It is important to note that this equates to thousands of people coming over and not paying taxes even though they are ‘gainfully employed’,” Palmer said. According to Palmer, B1 visa holders were paid approximately $15,000 rather than the $60,000-plus per year minimum required of H-1B visa holders, although the company charged customers for full-time wages. No taxes were paid on any of these workers, he said.