US whistleblower accuses Infosys of visa fraud

13 April,2012 11:34 AM IST |   |  Agencies

India's IT giant Infosys brought in Indian workers illegally to US and often abused business visa rules requiring foreign workers to be paid US market rate, a former company insider has alleged.


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Infosys could just have easily found local IT specialists to do what they were bringing foreigners in to do, at a fraction of the cost, Jay Palmer, a consultant for the firm was quoted as saying by CBS.
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Infosys said in a statement televised by CBS that Palmer's "allegations make for an interesting story, but it is not the facts."
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A judge and jury will have the final say on Palmer's accusations later this summer in an Alabama civil court case, it added.
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Palmer told CBS the first thing to catch his attention was an employee that had been in the US from India several times before.
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He then began digging into how and why Infosys seemed to be bringing in large numbers of workers from its corporate headquarters in Bangalore into the US.
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Palmer alleged the Indian workers on his team were paid substantially less than an American would have made in the same job.
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When the US State Department began to limit the number of H-1B visas, Palmer said Infosys began using another type of visa, the B-1.
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The B-1 is meant for employees who are travelling to consult with associates, attend training or a convention. But Palmer said the employees were brought in not for meetings, but for full time jobs.
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