k****a
发帖数: 7077 | 1 这帮二逼太嚣张了。
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/us/22infosys.html?hp=&adxnnl=
June 21, 2011
Indian Company Under Scrutiny Over U.S. Visas
By JULIA PRESTON and VIKAS BAJAJ
A giant Indian outsourcing company with thousands of employees in the United
States is facing an expanding federal investigation prompted by claims from
an American whistle-blower that it misused short-term visitors’ visas to
bring in low-cost workers from India.
Accusations that the company, Infosys Technologies, repeatedly violated the
terms of business visitor visas were first raised in a lawsuit filed in
February in Alabama by Jack Palmer, an Infosys project manager. Aside from
Mr. Palmer, at least two other Infosys managers in the United States have
submitted internal whistle-blower reports pointing to Indians on business
visitor visas who were performing longer-term work not authorized under
those visas, according to internal documents and current Infosys managers.
In May, Infosys acknowledged that it had received a subpoena from a federal
grand jury in Texas seeking information about the company’s use of the
visitor documents, known as B-1 visas, which are easier to obtain. This
month, N. R. Narayana Murthy, an Infosys founder, expressed his concern
about that investigation at a board meeting in Bangalore, India, in his
final address before he retired as company chairman.
“As I leave the board, I feel sad” about the subpoena, he said. “The
issue will be decided on its merits in due course,” said Mr. Murthy, who is
something of a legend in global business for building the company over
three decades from a $250 investment into an outsourcing powerhouse with $6
billion in revenues.
In papers filed in Mr. Palmer’s lawsuit, Infosys denied all his accusations
and asked a federal judge to remove the dispute from court and send it to
arbitration. In a statement, Infosys said it was committed to “absolute
compliance” with American visa requirements and had undertaken an internal
review of its practices.
“Infosys is a large and rapidly growing company,” the statement said. “We
have made changes over time to certain of our policies relating to the
business visa program and we may continue to make improvements in those
policies and controls.”
The Infosys inquiry coincides with a broader attack in Congress on longer-
term visas, known as H-1B, that Infosys and other Indian companies rely on
to bring Indian technology workers to the United States. With unemployment
for Americans stubbornly high, lawmakers have become increasingly reluctant
to defend H-1B visas, which give temporary residence to highly skilled
foreigners. In recent years, the top companies receiving those visas were
not American names, but Infosys and another big Indian outsourcing company,
Wipro.
Last week, Representative Zoe Lofgren of California, the senior Democrat on
the immigration subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a
bill that would increase the wages employers would have to pay H-1B workers,
in an effort to ensure they do not undercut Americans. The measure is
specifically aimed at Indian outsourcing companies. Last year, Congress
added an extra $2,000 to the fee for H-1B visas, in another move aimed at
the Indian companies.
Yet the criminal investigation is perhaps the most worrisome development for
Infosys, which enjoys a reputation as one of India’s best-run and most
respected companies. The events began with Mr. Palmer, 43, a project manager
from Alabama who was hired by the company in 2008. In a sworn affidavit he
submitted to the federal court, Mr. Palmer said his differences with Infosys
management began after he was summoned to a meeting in Bangalore in March
2010. Top executives, he said, discussed ways to “creatively” get around H
-1B visa limitations “to fulfill the high demand for its customers at lower
cost.”
In general, B-1 visas are granted to business visitors coming to the United
States for short stays to attend meetings, conferences or training sessions,
or to install specialized equipment. Visitors may not be employed for
contract work like H-1B workers, nor can they be paid salaries in this
country. There is no annual limit on business visitor visas, whereas H-1B
visas are restricted to 85,000 a year.
Mr. Palmer said his supervisors asked him to write letters inviting workers
to come from India for sales and training meetings, letters he believed were
false. “I refused to write the letters,” he said.
After word got out of his refusal, Mr. Palmer said, he was chastised by his
managers and began to receive threats by e-mail and telephone. In October,
Infosys has confirmed, Mr. Palmer filed a whistle-blower report about B-1
visa holders from India assigned to projects he or others managed. His
report said the B-1 visa holders were doing the same tasks as workers on H-
1B visas, including writing and testing software code. Mr. Palmer said he
personally knew of at least 60 Indian workers doing contract work on B-1
visas.
Mr. Palmer still works at Infosys. He feels isolated and besieged within the
company, according to Kenneth Mendelsohn, his lawyer in Montgomery, who has
instructed him not to speak publicly about his experience.
“I’m protecting him as best I can so Infosys doesn’t fire him,” Mr.
Mendelsohn said. But Mr. Mendelsohn provided documents and e-mails that he
said Mr. Palmer has shared with investigators from the State Department
Bureau of Diplomatic Security, the Department of Homeland Security and the
Justice Department.
In one e-mail, another Infosys manager confirmed to Mr. Palmer that three
Indians on B-1 visas were “working on client sites” on a contract with
Baker Hughes, an oil services company in Houston.
In an e-mail exchange with Jeffrey Friedel, a top lawyer for Infosys, Mr.
Palmer described the work assigned to one B-1 visa holder on a project for
Heidrick & Struggles, an executive search company in Chicago. “His project
task consists of reviewing designs and then to physically create and write
test scripts,” Mr. Palmer wrote. “This process is repeated over many weeks
.”
Referring to the same employee, another manager wrote that he was “working
on a B-1 visa” and cautioned his colleagues not to include the man’s name
in any contracts. “We can’t put name on B-1 people for contract,” the
manager wrote.
In an e-mail in December, Mr. Friedel assured Mr. Palmer that the issues he
had raised “have made it clear to management that certain changes need to
be made to our systems.” Mr. Friedel enumerated seven steps the company
would take to prevent misuse of visitor visas.
But only this month, another Infosys manager became alarmed after
discovering by chance that B-1 workers were among the team members on a
project under the manager’s supervision. “There was no significant
difference between the B-1 and the H-1B employees in the type of work they
did,” the manager, who was granted anonymity out of fears of retaliation by
the company, said in an interview.
At least one of Infosys’ major clients, Wal-Mart, has been contacted by
investigators about its contracts with Infosys. Greg Rossiter, a Wal-Mart
spokesman, declined to comment. There has been no suggestion of wrongdoing
by any Infosys client mentioned in the visa investigations.
A State Department official in India said Infosys and other Indian companies
had made use in recent years of an exception in the complex visa guidelines
that allows them to send workers to the United States on B-1 visas for up
to six months for certain short-term projects that might otherwise have
required an H-1B visa. Since last year, the State Department has clamped
down on the use of that exception and is considering whether to eliminate it
, the official and several outsourcing executives in India said.
Mr. Palmer, who is known as Jay, filed his lawsuit claiming that Infosys had
failed to protect him from threats from within the company he received
after submitting his whistle-blower report, and had unfairly withheld more
than $100,000 in bonuses he was owed. Described by his lawyer, Mr.
Mendelsohn, as “on an emotional roller coaster,” Mr. Palmer has reported
receiving a new death threat against himself and his family as recently as
April.
While denying Mr. Palmer’s claims, Infosys has noted that Indian employees
with business visitor visas are a small part — less than 2 percent — of
its teams in the United States. The company reports a total of 15,500
employees in this country, including 10,100 on H-1B visas. North American
clients account for 65 percent of the company’s revenue.
At least one top Indian executive overseeing United States immigration
procedures has resigned from the company, Infosys said.
But Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the Senate
Judiciary Committee who closely monitors United States visa programs, said
he remained skeptical of Infosys’s intentions.
“It appears the B-1 visa program has become a subterfuge for companies
wanting to avoid the cap-and-wage requirements of the H-1B visa,” Mr.
Grassley said. | a*******d
发帖数: 4846 | 2 "The company reports a total of 15,500 employees in this country,
including 10,100 on H-1B visas."
Not B1 visa usage but H-1B and L1B visa usage should really be examined. | d**d
发帖数: 389 | 3 老印被搞是肯定的。去年的那个2000块的特别费用不就是专门针对老印的吗？老美想搞
老印的话简直太easy了。
United
from
the
【在 k****a 的大作中提到】
: 这帮二逼太嚣张了。
: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/22/us/22infosys.html?hp=&adxnnl=
: June 21, 2011
: Indian Company Under Scrutiny Over U.S. Visas
: By JULIA PRESTON and VIKAS BAJAJ
: A giant Indian outsourcing company with thousands of employees in the United
: States is facing an expanding federal investigation prompted by claims from
: an American whistle-blower that it misused short-term visitors’ visas to
: bring in low-cost workers from India.
: Accusations that the company, Infosys Technologies, repeatedly violated the
| a*******d
发帖数: 4846 | 4 关键现在的情况是没人搞，不过如果搞的动静太大了(太多H-1B fraud)，
也会牵连中国的H-1B。
【在 d**d 的大作中提到】
: 老印被搞是肯定的。去年的那个2000块的特别费用不就是专门针对老印的吗？老美想搞
: 老印的话简直太easy了。
:
: United
: from
: the
| S******8
发帖数: 24594 | 5 烙印造假如果仅仅损害老中的利益。老美绝对不会去搞他们的，不管多easy | p***e
发帖数: 29053 | 6 不知道能不能cancel他们通过的PERM
10K 个 perm啊
【在 a*******d 的大作中提到】
: 关键现在的情况是没人搞，不过如果搞的动静太大了(太多H-1B fraud)，
: 也会牵连中国的H-1B。
| d**d
发帖数: 389 | 7 不明白这个什么意思。
【在 S******8 的大作中提到】
: 烙印造假如果仅仅损害老中的利益。老美绝对不会去搞他们的，不管多easy
| H******i
发帖数: 4704 | 8 he means nobody will protect Chinese benefits. The Indian company must have
hurt someone else.
【在 d**d 的大作中提到】
: 不明白这个什么意思。
| S*******r
发帖数: 11017 | 9 多行不义必自毙 拿着B-1就开始工作 这不是找抽吗
这个Jack Palmer肯定是在公司内部被老印排挤（废话 这还用说吗？！）
才吹的哨子
希望这是控制老印蝗灾的开始！ | p********y
发帖数: 412 | 10 如果确定是ICC公司的话，应该把占用的名额让出来。另外对印度的申请严查。印度申
请周期长的话，中印就没道理捆绑 | | | i******t
发帖数: 11048 | 11 美国不会这么干的
你怎么能针对国家
应该是对付搞fraud 和abuse的公司
【在 p********y 的大作中提到】
: 如果确定是ICC公司的话，应该把占用的名额让出来。另外对印度的申请严查。印度申
: 请周期长的话，中印就没道理捆绑
| w**t
发帖数: 893 | 12 当然是针对相关公司。
【在 i******t 的大作中提到】
: 美国不会这么干的
: 你怎么能针对国家
: 应该是对付搞fraud 和abuse的公司
| l********7
发帖数: 1089 | 13 The company reports a total of 15,500
employees in this country, including 10,100 on H-1B visas.
这得多少ＰＥＲＭ／１４０啊。把他们全砍了，排气就Ｃ啦，哇哈哈。 | E**r
发帖数: 434 | | d*****g
发帖数: 4081 | | l********7
发帖数: 1089 | 16 不知道烙印论坛上怎么说。ＩＮＦＯＳＹＳ搬过来的人不少吧。 | l********7
发帖数: 1089 | 17 infosys applied 59 PERMS in 2010. 16 of them were either denied or withdrawn
. | a*******d
发帖数: 4846 | 18 fraud + abuse = ICC
【在 i******t 的大作中提到】
: 美国不会这么干的
: 你怎么能针对国家
: 应该是对付搞fraud 和abuse的公司
| h*e
发帖数: 10233 | | d*******p
发帖数: 2525 | 20 这个是用B1工作的(纯粹脑残，而且那些人干了用b1工作的事，肯定得不到绿卡)，和
icc的h1b fraud没关系...... | f******s
发帖数: 983 | 21 这个公司肯定会被罚款，看他们以后还乱来，去年通过的印度ICC公司给钱给美墨边境
修城墙的事情，最后印度公司掏钱没有。
【在 d*******p 的大作中提到】
: 这个是用B1工作的(纯粹脑残，而且那些人干了用b1工作的事，肯定得不到绿卡)，和
: icc的h1b fraud没关系......
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