It's a well-oiled machine money making machine. There's nothing in there for genuine American companies to bring in foreign expertise.
Here are some excerpts from the article above.
Agent: We will get you a fake employer. He'll file for your H-1B. He will
have a proper company and will be a US citizen.
Us: So what happens once we get there?Agent: The fake employer who files for your H-1B will give you a work permit and will get away and once you get there, this fake employer will give you a no-objection certificate (NOC), saying you can work with any employer.
Us: Will you find me a job there?
Agent: Once you are there, we have people who will help you with contacts. We can only assist you.
Us: How much will it cost?
Agent: $2,250 will be the immigration fee, $2,250 will be lawyers charges
Us: Do many people go to the US using this route?
Agent: People who know and who have relatives ask for fake employers. They want to go there on real jobs. . . Because here you won't get a job as good as the one you can get when you are in the US.
Us: How long it'll take to find a real job?
Agent: Jobs in the US are tremendous. The problem is not getting a job but getting a visa. We will have all the interviews lined up for you and once you get there, you will attend those and find a job.
Using this route, these so-called counsellors send professionals to the US practically without a job. The search for jobs begins only after applicants land in the US. Individuals cannot apply for an H-1B visa on their own. Their employer must petition for them. Petitions for this visa begin on April 1 every year.
Manoj, an H-1B visa holder is still waiting for the past one year to fly to the US. This 28-year-old was happy working in a leading multinational firm in Hyderabad, till he decided to head to the land of opportunities.
Like thousands of others like him, he too approached a consulatant to help him realise his dream to work in the US. His H-1B petition got approved in October 2006 but it was then that his ordeal started. Instead of taking him to the US, his broker took away his visa documents needed for him to take off.
He then asked Manoj to buy an IP phone with a US number and start looking for a job. Manoj spent many sleepless nights talking to his prospective employers in the US, all the time telling them that he was in the US. Most of the time, the job offers fell through when the employers, thinking Manoj was in the US, wanted him to join at a very short notice.
US authorities admit H-1B visa frauds are rampant. Last year alone, they found 2,000 H-1B applications suspicious. These applications were returned to the US Department of Homeland Security for reconsideration. The Consular Section Chief, US Consulate, Mumbai, Glen Keiser, says, "We also see people who are going to jobs that we suspect do not exist. These people are unable to describe their projects to us. When we do even a cursory examination, we may find that the company in the US is simply nothing more than just a shell. Neither are they in a position to offer work themselves nor do they have a client base, where they can send a qualified worker."
Pradeep Udhas, global head, sourcing advisory, KPMG, says, "Today, India's software companies are booming. They depend a lot on H-1B visas because their business models are such that they need people to be onsite. Their business models won't work if the H-1B visas are not given."
