H-1B Visa: In a stunning revelation, an Indian-origin American diplomat has urged the Donald Trump administration to immediately pause its H1-B visa program pending a comprehensive program audit.
Mahvash Siddiqui, citing her experience as a junior officer in the US Consulate in Chennai, wrote for the anti-immigrant think tank Centre for Immigrant Studies that bribery by unqualified Indian application is a common occurrence.
H-1B Horror: How Are Things Being Manipulated?
Siddiqui added that a big majority of Indian nationals between the age of 20 and 45 years have been abusing H1-B to enter the United States with inflated or fraudulent credentials, displacing qualified American STEM and IT workers.
She went on to add that many H1-B applications claiming top computer science degrees had no relevant programming or coursework skills and routinely fail even basic coding tests.
She also wrote that corrupt HR officials in the United States and India have been “enabling” the use of fake employment letters to bypass scrutiny.
Siddiqui also said insular hiring networks have been created by some Indian managers in the United States. This is done to protect unqualified hires and foster environments where whistleblowing is active discouraged.
In an earlier podcast, Siddiqui described the Chennai Visa Office as the H-1B visa fraud capital of the world.
She noted that the Chennai consulate adjudicated about 1 lakh H-1B applications annually between 2005 and 2007. She claimed the number has since then surged to more than 40 lakhs a year. Siddiqui alleged that entire markets in Ameerpet, Hyderabad sold forged bank statements, fake degrees and counterfeit birth and marriage certificates.
Indian lobbyists and Silicon Valley executives for years have been running a disinformation campaign that American workers are less capable, according to Siddiqui.
