Texas journalist Sara Gonzales who claimed to have blown the lid off the H-1B abuse going on in Texas after visiting empty H-1B office sites said that her expose, she has been receiving tips from Indians that the fraud is real. Gonzales said Indians are reaching out to her, informing her that IT bodyshops are trafficking people from India and they don’t actually have any jobs. “These people are explaining to me that there is one particular region called Hyderabad which is known for fraudsters. They come here, set up shop and start importing their buddies. They create these fraudulent jobs that don’t exist. And when the jobs do exist, they get paid under the table, which is not allowed by the rules. They are the ones who informed me that these companies are called ‘bodyshops’. I mean, they are literally trafficking people in and that’s why they call these bodyshops,” Gonzales explained. The journalist said those who sent her tips are enraged about the situation, as they are taking the legal route. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton ordered an investigation into three firms that hired H-1Bs in past to submit details of those H-1B employees, the details of the products or services.
What are IT bodyshops in US? Are they legal?
Many experts expressed concern that Gonzales raised a false alarm over an established practise of IT bodyshops in US tech industry. These are staffing firms, informally called IT bodyshops, who supply workers to client companies on a contract basis. They may not have a fully functional office and the H-1Bs they hire are definitely not supposed to be found at their offices and they hire for client sites. They are legal when they follow all the rules.
How to find H-1B abuse?
H-1b compliance is easy to verify by the government. They can check whether
- The employee worked at the approved location
- Wages were paid as required under the LCA by the employer
- Payroll taxes were properly reported