Indian Hustle: How Fraudsters Prey On Would-be US Tech Workers

New submitter angel115 points out this article on the widespread fraud committed in India against many thousands of those seeking visas to work in the U.S. Many Indian techies rely on the services of visa brokers (or people who claim to be), and end up burned by the transaction. From the article: "Some are lucky enough to get a visa — only to find that the promised job in the US doesn’t materialize. Then the visa holders are forced to return to India after spending thousands of dollars just surviving. ... No official figures are available for the number of frauds in India, but an unclassified document released by Wikileaks showed that in 2009, US consular officials cited H-1B scams as one of the two most common fraud categories in India." Another interesting detail: As part of a U.S. government investigation, "Officers investigated 150 companies in the city and discovered that 77 percent 'turned out to be fraudulent or highly suspect.' ... Officials uncovered a scheme where Hyderabadis were claiming to work for made-up companies in Pune so the Mumbai consulate would be less suspicious about their applications. 'The Hyderabadis claimed that they had opened shell companies in Bangalore because "everyone knows Hyderabad has fraud and Bangalore is reputable,” according to the internal communiqué [later published by Wikileaks]."

Why the exodus ?

[invictusvoyd]

Can't They just live and work in India? . There is ample opportunity in India waiting to be tapped. The very first time I saw a US visa applicants queue at one embassy , I decided never to be a part of this . No wonder the Americans are fed up of all these fellas . And whats worse is they form the Indian stereotype in the US . Many who have made the H1 B or whatever seem to believe that they have achieved some "higher ground" by working in the US . I can't get it . I value fellas who write good shell scripts more than these " yum bee yea's " .

Re:Why the exodus ?

[Viol8]

Never underestimate the number of naive people in the world who think the grass is always greener elsewhere. Sometimes it is, usually - unless you come from a slum in some no hope country - it isn't. Its just the same old sh1t but with a different view out the window.

Re:Why the exodus ?

[khallow]

Keep in mind that most of these people probably have friends or relatives who can tell them what it's like. My understanding is that most immigrants don't immigrate without a fair idea of what they'll see on the other side and some help to ease the transition.

Re:Boo Fu*king Hoo

[interkin3tic]

Sounds to me like the bad guys are the people deciding to outsource your job, not the people getting ripped off here. Not even the people ripping them off, though they are bad too.

It sounds like you're saying "I have problems too, so why should I care about someone else's problems?" Which is fair, no one is asking you to donate money to help H1V1 scam victims, but "boo fucking hoo" is pointless, and misdirected.

Re:Boo Fu*king Hoo

[schlachter]

Victims all around, but the perpetrators are your fellow American capitalists...not Indians or anyone else trying to find a job to support their family.

Re:Remove all immigration controls.

[ShanghaiBill]

The left don't believe in artificial borders

The left built the Berlin Wall.

Re:Why the exodus ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Indian girls refuse to marry and move to America because they have to do all the house work.

... should be:

Middle-class Indian women -- who are expected by most Indian men to be responsible for all the housework and in India have the benefit of servants -- refuse to marry and move to America because they are still expected to be responsible for all the house work but have no one to delegate it to.

One would think that at least some marriages would could make it work, especially those where the bride comes from poverty. But, same class and caste and creed and economic and educational status are the building blocks upon which most arranged Indian marriages are built.

-- An Indian Immigrant