US Labor Department Launches Probe Into Alleged Violation Of Visa Rules By Indian Firms

U.S. authorities have launched an investigation into Indian technology firm Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) for alleged violations of H-1B visa rules. In this photo, an employee is seen behind an Infosys logo at the company's campus in the Indian city of Bangalore September 23, 2014. Reuters/Abhishek Chinnappa


http://www.ibtimes.com/us-labor-department-launches-probe-alleged-violation-visa-rules-indian-firms-1964130

By Avaneesh Pandey @avaneeshp88 a.pandey@ibtimes.com on June 12 2015 6:30 AM EDT

U.S. authorities have launched an investigation into alleged violations of H-1B visa rules by Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), two of India's largest technology companies. The Labor Department will look into reports that the two companies used the H-1B visa program to replace hundreds of American workers at electricity supply company Southern California Edison with immigrants holding the temporary work visas.

“A number of U.S. employers, including some large, well-known, publicly-traded corporations, have laid off thousands of American workers and replaced them with H-1B visa holders. … To add insult to injury, many of the replaced American employees report that they have been forced to train the foreign workers who are taking their jobs,” U.S. senators Jeff Sessions and Dick Durbin reportedly said on Thursday. “We’re pleased to hear that the Labor Department is taking a first step to stanch this tide of visa abuse.”

Under H-1B visa rules, U.S. companies can employ foreign workers in “specialty occupations” that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields. While the program is intended to help businesses bring in high-skilled workers to fill positions for which American workers are not available, companies have, in the past, been accused of misusing it to bring in foreigners who would do the same work for less money.

In October, over 250 Disney employees were laid off and required to train their replacements -- immigrants on H1-B visas -- to do the jobs they had lost, the New York Times reported.

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