US govt seeks $5 mn for H-1B visa fraud

The US government has reportedly filed a new expanded indictment against an IT services company, Visions System, for fraudulently using H-1B visas.

According to a report in Computerworld, the US government alleges that the New Jersey-based IT services company paid H-1B workers based on Iowa's lower prevailing wage rates through the creation of shell firms in that state, and not the prevailing wage rates of the higher paying locations where they worked.

According to the report, if federal prosecutors win their case against Visions System Group Inc, they will ask the court to approve $4.9 million in forfeited assets, an amount "representing the total amount of gross proceeds obtained as a result of offenses," the government said.

However, this amount is a reduction from the $7.4 million the US sought from Visions Systems in its initial indictment, filed earlier this year. The reduction was not explained in court documents.

Visions Systems and its executives named in the indictment are fighting the charges in US District Court in Iowa. The attorney representing Vision Systems disputes the government's charge. The news report quotes the company's attorney, Mark Weinhardt, saying that the workers were paid at or above the prevailing wage rates of the places that they were working.

"Vision Systems Group's business was to bring highly trained computer specialists to the United States to serve a need that was unmet or underserved by our native population. We don't think bringing people from abroad to meet that need is or should be a crime," Visions Systems attorney reportedly said.