TCS faces visa fraud allegations amid Trump-era scrutiny: Report

Former TCS employees filed lawsuits alleging the company exploited the L-1A visa system. Claims include falsifying job titles to secure visas.

Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT outsourcing firm, is reportedly facing allegations of visa fraud, with whistleblowers claiming the company misused special work visas to sidestep US labour laws. The allegations, detailed in lawsuits and a Bloomberg News investigation, suggest that TCS improperly used L-1A manager visas to bring frontline workers to the US while labelling them as managers.

TCS has denied these claims and maintains compliance with US laws,

HT.com couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the claims.

Organisational chart manipulated?

In 2017, when the Donald Trump administration intensified its focus on employment visas, Anil Kini, a former IT manager for TCS in Denver, alleges company executives instructed him to falsify internal organisational charts, Bloomberg reported. The purported aim was to misrepresent frontline employees as managers, aligning with visa applications to evade federal scrutiny.

Anil Kini, along with two other former TCS employees, filed lawsuits under the federal False Claims Act, accusing the company of exploiting the L-1A visa system, the report said. These visas, intended for managerial transfers, are less regulated than H-1B skilled-worker visas, which have stricter wage and educational requirements. Anil Kini's lawsuit was dismissed earlier this year, but he has appealed the decision, it added.

Alleged discrepancies in visa approvals, managerial positions

Between October 2019 and September 2023, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) approved more than 90,000 L-1A visas, primarily utilised by IT outsourcing firms to manage information technology tasks for US employers.

Notably, TCS led these approvals, securing more than 6,500 L-1A visas—surpassing the combined total of the next seven largest recipients. During this period, TCS reported significantly fewer managers in its US operations compared to the number of L-1A visas obtained, Bloomberg reported.

In its 2022 report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), TCS indicated that out of 31,000 US-based employees, fewer than 600 held executive or managerial positions. Yet, in the same fiscal year, the company received approvals for 1,969 new or renewed L-1A manager visas. Similarly, in 2021, TCS reported 564 executives and managers in the US but obtained 1,447 L-1A visa approvals, the report added.

TCS denies wrongdoing

TCS has firmly denied any misconduct. “TCS does not comment on ongoing litigation, however we strongly refute these inaccurate allegations by certain ex-employees, which have previously been dismissed by multiple courts and tribunals. TCS rigorously adheres to all US laws,” a company spokesperson was quoted as news saying by the news outlet.

Implications

Immigration attorneys warn that falsifying job titles to secure L-1A visas for employees who are not managers constitutes a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. They point out that insufficient federal enforcement has allowed some employers to exploit this loophole.

As Kini's appeal progresses, the case underscores ongoing concerns about visa fraud and the impact of outsourcing firms on the US labour market.

What is H-1B visa?

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in speciality occupations. These occupations typically require a bachelor’s degree or equivalent in a specific field.

For the speciality occupation, the position must require theoretical and practical application of specialised knowledge, typically requiring at least a bachelor’s degree.

A US employer must sponsor the foreign worker and file the necessary petitions with USCIS. There’s an annual limit on new H-1B visas, with a lottery system if demand exceeds the cap.

Due to high demand, if the number of petitions exceeds the cap, a lottery system randomly selects which petitions will be processed.

H-1B status is initially granted for three years but can be extended.