Systematic Fraud in H-1B Visa Programme Revealed

Amidst the Trump government’s crackdown on the immigrant visas, fresh allegations of a fraud in H-1B visa programme could add fuel to MAGA activists’ argument against it.

Indian-American diplomat Mahvash Siddiqui alleged rampant and systematic fraud in the H-1B visa programme. Many of the working visas, nearly 80-90%, issued to Indians were obtained fraudulently, she said. Economist Dave Brat, a former US Representative, also pointed out to a violation of the visa rules. He claimed that while the national cap for the H-1B visas is 85,000, Chennai received 220,000 visas, which is 2.5 times the cap.

For the unversed, H-1B is used by American companies to hire foreign talent and Indians are the major beneficiaries of the temporary work visa programme.

Siddiqui made the revelation during a podcast in which she related experiences when she worked as a consular officer in Chennai, one among the world’s largest H-1B visa processing centres, where the US authorities adjudicated thousands of non-immigrant visas, including 220,000 H-1B and 140,000 H-4 visas in 2024 alone, which means 70% of recipients were Indian nationals. Applications from four high-footfall regions, including Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana are processed at the Chennai centre.

She alleged that 80-90% of the visas issued to Indians, most of which are H-1B visas, are fraudulent, issued basing on fake degrees, forged documents or applicants not actually skilled enough as per the prescribed standards.

Further, she claimed that during her stay in Chennai, from 2005 to 2007, as a consular officer, they detected the fraud and even informed the Secretary of State but that no action was taken due to political pressure. She alleged that numerous politicians were also involved in the fraud and that there was significant pressure on them not to carry out probe into the fraud.

During her two-year posting at the Chennai Consulate, she said that over 51,000 non-immigrant visas were adjudicated, the majority of which were H-1B visas. “As an Indian-American, I hate to say this but fraud and bribery are normalized in India,” she said.

In some instances, the candidates skipped their job interviews completely if an American was the interviewer. In a few other cases, proxy candidates appeared for the interview and Indian managers gave jobs to Indians, accepting bribes. She also mentioned that there are some places in Hyderabad which coached visa applicants and sold them fake employment letters and educational certificates.

Statutory Limits Exceeded

Brat, while speaking on a podcast, claimed that the H-1B system had been the most exploited at industrial-scale fraud, with the visa allocations exceeding the statutory limits. He pointed out that 71 per cent of H-1B visas come from India, while only 12 per cent come from China, the second-largest beneficiary group of the programme.

The economist linked the fraud with Make America Great Again (MAGA) anti-immigration agenda and projected it as a threat to the American workforce.

“When I say H-1B visa, you need to think of your cousins, your aunts and uncles, and your grandparents. One of these folks comes over and claims they’re skilled; they’re not. That’s the fraud. They just took away your family’s job, and your mortgage, and your house, and all that,” he said.