Tech execs charged with visa fraud for illegally outsourcing jobs in the US
Two tech executives in California, United States were charged with visa fraud and conspiracy after allegedly taking in employees who are not authorized to work in the country.
The executives, from computer chip design company PerfectVIPs, reportedly filed for 85 fraudulent H-1B visa applications to import foreign workers only to then lend them out to other employers whom they were not authorized to work for.
In a statement, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said that these applications were filed from 2011 to 2017.
This practice provided PerfectVIPs an unfair and illegal advantage over employment-staffing firms as they earned nearly $7 million to cover the cost of the H-1B workers’ wages and salaries.
The two executives are each facing a maximum of 15 to 25 years in prison if convicted, as well as thousands in fines.
The charges come as President Joe Biden recently expanded big business’s ability to outsource thousands of high-paying American STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) jobs to foreigners.
Tech executives, in particular, are urging the President to increase the number of H-1B visa workers that they can import each year.
