H-1B visa fraud: Two Indian-origin men plead guilty in California; hired people for non-existent posts

Two Indian-origin men pleaded guilty to an H-1B scam in California, where they hired people promising them jobs at the University of California -- fooling both the beneficiaries and the USCIS.

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Two Indian-origin men pleaded guilty to an H-1B scam in California, where they hired people promising them jobs at the University of California -- fooling both the beneficiaries and the USCIS.

Two Indian-origin men have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to H-1B visa fraud where they hired foreign nationals, promising them jobs at the University of California, while the university had no such requirements.

Sampath Rajidi, 51, and Sreedhar Mada, 51 submitted H-1B visa petitions for many beneficiaries between June 2020 and January 2023. After these petitions were approved, the two gave these H-1Bs to other clients. Sampath Rajidi operated two visa servicing companies S-Team Software Inc. and Uptrend Technologies LLC. Mada's position as the Chief Information Officer of the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources helped the duo plan this fraud. Mada had inside information about the university and had supervisory authority but he could not hire H-1B workers for his department without authorization from higher-ups. But as part of the conspiracy, Mada lent his name and position in the H-1B petitions that led USCIS to believe that they were indeed hiring for the university. Court documents asserted that both of them knew that the positions listed on the petitions did not exist and they supplied the H-1Bs to other clients.

"They submitted false information knowing such information was material to U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decisions in granting visas. As a result of their conspiracy, Rajidi and Mada gained an unfair advantage over other firms and depleted the pool of H-1B visas available to competing firms," the court document said.

Both defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The administration has launched a crackdown into the H-1B visa abuse which, as it emerges, has become a complex operation involving many levels of fraud. Some staffing companies like the ones Sampath ran take money from H-1B while some take regular cuts from their payment. Some scams run on fake promises where the beneficiaries do not land the jobs they were promised.