H1B Visa lottery system

The Immigration and Nationality Act governs the H-1B visa for entry into the United States. A foreign national may work temporarily in the United States under the H1B visa classification. Offers of employment in specialized occupations are eligible for it. A specialist job is one that calls for a bachelor's degree or sufficient work experience to be equivalent to one.
The domains of architecture, engineering, mathematics, physical sciences, social sciences, medicine, health, education, business, law, accounting, religion, and the arts are among those in which this work may be found, although they are not the only ones.

The duration of an H1B visa is up to three years. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) may grant H1B status in increments of up to three years, with maximum six-year duration.

In addition to being allowed to study and remain in the country under H-4 status, the spouse of an H1B worker may also be eligible for work authorization if the primary H1B worker is being sponsored for lawful permanent residency, or a "green card."

H1 B visa scam

The fraud primarily centers on the H-1B visa lotto system, which underwent streamlining in 2020 with the aim of streamlining the application procedure. But there was also room for abuse as a result of this modification.
Through "multiple registrations," the fraud was carried out. The likelihood of winning the lottery was greatly enhanced by submitting multiple applications under various business names. This strategy, called "multiple registrations," is having the same individual submit many lottery entries in an effort to improve their odds of winning.
Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, a Congressman from Telangana's Adilabad seat, has come under fire for allegedly tampering with the H-1B visa lottery in the US. Since 2020, Reddy, who established Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC in 2013, is accused of taking advantage of the lottery system to get more than 300 H-1B visas.
Reddy's company paid recruiters up to $8,000 per head to locate IT professionals who needed H-1B visas in order to relocate or remain in the US.
Following the acquisition of an H-1B visa, Reddy's organization would contract these employees with businesses such as HSBC Holdings Plc and Meta Platforms Inc.
Advertisements claimed that the corporation kept between 20% and 30% of employees' salaries, which added up to an annual salary of $15,000 or more for each employee.
Reddy's Cloud Big Data submitted 288 employee names for the 2020 lottery, and nearly 3,000 submissions altogether from other firms he controls, many of which submitted the identical names. Since 2020, these efforts have resulted in the issuance of almost 300 H-1B visas; in 2020 alone, 54 visas were given, significantly higher than in any other year.
Reddy defended himself by telling Bloomberg that he is only a "registered agent" for the firms and has little direct contact with them. Nevertheless, prior remarks he made refute this claim.

Fraudulent Staffing Reports for H-1B Visas

A lot of employment agencies, sometimes referred to as "body shops," really operate more like visa brokers than employers.
They break labor rules, charge workers for visa applications, provide fraudulent information, and withhold wages.

USCIS ADRESSAL TO THE FRAUD:

Since then, the USCIS has modified the lottery procedure to thwart numerous registrations by choosing individual applicants rather than entries from companies. Although the number of duplicate applications decreased as a result, staffing companies still manipulate the system by providing names without having actual jobs lined up.

In the case of Alaval v. Department of Homeland Security, a US district court decided that H-1B visa holders are entitled to contest their own visa revocation if it results from employer fraud and they were not informed or participating in it. The decision was made in a case where Indians contested the USCIS's unilateral cancellation of their H-1B visas.

Conclusion:

When there is a dearth of competent individuals in the nation, the H-1B visa program ought to assist American businesses in hiring highly trained foreign nationals. Enhanced rules and procedures that safeguard American workers and ensure company responsibility depend on openness regarding the utilization of the H-1B program.

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