I have heard that this is happening from last 10 years from the time of Y2K.
I can also guess it for sure as some people whom I know who had completed engineering then and were just nuts with low IQ went to USA for work.
Probably the slowdown in USA today is for this reason.
Yes. As the article says, there are surely some deserving candidates who can do well abroad and this could result in further growth of Indian community all across the globe.
RE:Visa Fraud..
by tamal sarkar on Jul 04, 2007 10:23 AM Permalink
US shouldnt take any Indians who works in Indian Companies formed with Less than 1 Crore INR as paid up Capital.They shouldnt even take the people who are not working in Companies who are incorporated in India but not registered with the SEBI .In other words not listed in stock markets .
RE:Visa Fraud..
by tamal sarkar on Jul 04, 2007 10:29 AM Permalink
US shouldnt take any Indians who works in Indian Companies formed with Less than 1 Crore INR as paid up Capital.They shouldnt even take the people who are not working in Companies who are incorporated in India but not registered with the SEBI .In other words not listed in stock markets .
Very nice article. In fact after so long a time, read a good article in Rediff instead of worthless opinion polls and 'faltu' discussions like 'Helen or Mallika: Who rocks?' or 'What did you think of Madhuri on "Koffee"?' or regional as well as religious discussions which don't accomplish more than readers fighting with each other.
Even though some of the facts are true, it pictures all the smaller consulting comapanies aa villans. The writer must understand that the co called genuine big companies like infosys and CTS expliot their employees like crazy. the employees get around 30% or less of what the company gets paid for each guy it provides to its clients. On top of that these so called big and genuine companies bill their clients for the man power it doesnt really need. Just to make up numbers they employ people and bill their clients.
Personally I feel that unless these small companys fail to pay salaries... I dont think this is cheating anyone. This is business and everyone uses the loopholes. Infact these companies prevent the rule of big players in the industry.
RE:true but twisted
by Diptorup on Jul 04, 2007 10:19 AM Permalink
Agree to it that no one has his hands clean in here. But the fact remains that although the big companies are guilty to a lot of mal-practises the out right fraud is more appalling in the case of the small fly by night consultants. I say this on the following three counts a) They exploit the H1B worker far more without giving job stability. b) They almost as a rule post false resumes and misrepresent the skillsets. I have seen fresh graduates with absolute no idea of what they are talking off turn up for interviews requiring 5 plus experience in very specialised skills. c) They do lots of jiggling around to evade taxes.
I did my masters in US and got a job offer before the completion for course. My employor filed visa for me. But thanks to these fraud consultants there were lot of fake applications and this entire process went into lottery syste. UNfortunately for me, my application did not get into lottery. I could not get visa and my company withdrew the offer. While I know some people sitting in India who got visa through these fraud consultants and have no real job. It sucks. I have nothing against people who got visa because they will soon realize what mess they are entering. But I am really pissed off with these consultants who are taking this entire system for a ride and are a serious threat to the credibility of our nation.
RE:very sad state of affairs
by T a s i n on Jul 04, 2007 10:48 AM Permalink
Sad to know.. Author has portrayed the people who are going on these fake jobs as 10 year old innocent kids, lemme add even if they dont know how much trouble they are going to face they very well know that its the wrong route. i know many of my friends who went like that..were screwed royally but finally managed to survive..
RE:very sad state of affairs
by Dande Waala on Jul 04, 2007 11:22 AM Permalink
Sorry to hear that dude.. On the flip side you should have tried getting into Infy or wipro.. I bet you would have got the VISA..
I am currently working client site for one of India's largest IT service company. In addition to what you have mentioned I would like to add that the fraudulent practices of these desi consultants do not stop at this level. They most of the times put in candidates with fake resumes and are able to push candidates who have very little knowledge or experience. Most of these firms do not have direct clients and route the applications through larger US staffing companies like GCI or Teksystems. Thus for the H1B holder it becomes double taxation since both level of consultants take their cut. Sometimes the desi consultant even genrates false salary slips to evade taxes. I have met folks who have not reeived proper paychecks for months at end. This really cuts a very sorry picture of us Indian IT professionals out here in the US. However the lure of the dollar paycheck is such that people are ready to pay thousands of dollars to get a slice of the pie. I am not at all against H1b professionals or the program ( I being one of the lot) but these firms who are running their little scams out here are not only taking gullible foljs for a ride but also tarnishing the name of our country.
RE:H1B fraud
by murali vaddi on Jul 04, 2007 10:15 AM Permalink
Sir, FYI I know a very big IT company which places fresh college grads in projects and bills them as experienced professionals. I say its business. you sell whatever you have.
RE:H1B fraud
by Diptorup on Jul 04, 2007 10:27 AM Permalink
I am not at all arguing the point you are trying to make. But still let me put it in perspective. Most of these companies have in place more checks and balances than the fly by night operators. The training programmes are far better and the average level of experience of teh H1 workers is more. But my point is not that I am stressing on the immense explotation the consultants do on their workers. I have know folks living 8 in a 2 bedroom apartment in NJ like refugees being given an apology of training by their "employer" and waiting to land jobs and having almost no money to go by.
The article is very well true. But what is smartly hidden is that Indian IT companies are the biggest scamsters. Its high time that we ban Infosys, Wipro and others so called "MNCs" from US.
RE:So very true
by Amey Karekar on Jul 04, 2007 09:58 AM Permalink
Absolutely agree with you there. All these big MNC go to the extent of creating paper projects to get people into the US. These companies are without any ethics, all they want is a higher billing from the client.
I live in US and here too there are a few desi consultants(to name a few sirsai http:////www.sirsai.com// etc) who will go to any length in filing H1B for people with no or all fake experience. The irony is that even a trusted law firm like "sheela murthy law firm" plays in the hands of these crooks. Shut these desi fraud consultants in US and India and 90% of the VISA problem will be solved.
RE:so true
by greatrr on Jul 04, 2007 10:02 AM Permalink
My Friend, all this is happening because of the steep hike in the H1B VISA FEE. Gone are those days when US companies did direct hiring from india by filing H1B visas, then the fee was petty amount. These days the fee is so damn high, no company wants to get their head into the immigration muddle. For which I would directly blame USCIS becoming too greedy. Infact they charge $500 towards fraud detection.. but all thats useless. As a result, middle men started floating one man companies which brings people with fake experience, and also Indian IT biggies do abuse the system to a greater extent. All this is purely because of the companies not hiring candidates directly and this caused brokers to get upper hand, sadly though, USCIS also doesnt bother much despite knowing all this.
I too work as a software professional. I have seen my company and other companies too, which file for a great number of H1 and L1 visas every year..though the guys get their Visas, these people do not send them to US...isnt it a misuse?? who is going to question these companies?its also one factor of luring the employee and retaining him...that someday he will be sent to US for an onsite project..nobody is good here...
RE:H1B visa is misused by all the companies too
by TheVoice on Jul 04, 2007 12:05 PM Permalink
There was a time when the cream of IT professionals would go to the US. One would be respected. One bad apple is all you need to spoil the rest. Now, even a doodhwala (no offense friends. just a metaphor) can go there using fake documents and a cooked up resume through fraudulent companies. The people who are suffering are the H1B seekers. Promised of a fantastic life and great comforts, people easily fall prey to these lucrative offers. On reaching the US, they are housed into cramped apartments with sometimes 4 to 6 people staying. They pat the new candidate on the shoulder and sarcastically express their happiness over him/her joining the American dream. None of them have a job and hardly have any money left to lead a normal life. They are literally living off their credit cards anxiously waiting for a job offer to clear all their loans. Even after landing up with a job, you'll be under the constant threat of being fired. This is obvious since you would have cooked up your resume.
The candidate then starts living a life of regret saying that life in India was much better but he cannot get back as he doesn't have the money. The employer really is not bothered. The employee gets homesick and has virtually no one to fall back on. This causes almost suicidal tendencies. He/she is ashamed even to face his/her parents. Parents have no clue as to what is going on, thinking that their child must be settling down and reaping the riches.
RE:RE:RE:H1B visa is misused by all the companies too
by TheVoice on Jul 04, 2007 12:08 PM Permalink
As everybody knows, citizens in India are still earning good salaries but to satisfy one's ego, they find it necessary to go abroad and become the envy of their neighbours and relatives.
Coming to the point. Many people do not know about these scams. I don't blame them. It is the media and citizens who need to publicise this fraud. So I advice people not to fall victims to companies promising an H1B sponsorship and lead a life of hell in the US. There are thousands of Indians suffering in the US chasing that so called American dream. If you really want to chase that dream, go through genuine companies. There are no short cuts to success. There is nothing wrong in working in another country to make an extra buck but be aware of scams.
Yes, I know it's a difficult issue. There are ways to curb this rampant corruption. Using the media is one way.
RE:RE:H1B visa is misused by all the companies too
by TheVoice on Jul 04, 2007 12:07 PM Permalink
As everybody knows, citizens in India are still earning good salaries but to satisfy one's ego, they find it necessary to go abroad and become the envy of their neighbours and relatives.
Coming to the point. Many people do not know about these scams. I don't blame them. It is the media and citizens who need to publicise this fraud. So I advice people not to fall victims to companies promising an H1B sponsorship and lead a life of hell in the US. There are thousands of Indians suffering in the US chasing that so called American dream. If you really want to chase that dream, go through genuine companies. There are no short cuts to success. There is nothing wrong in working in another country to make an extra buck but be aware of scams.
Yes, I know it's a difficult issue. There are ways to curb this rampant corruption. Using the media is one way.
