Thread: Lawsuit against Infosys turns light on B-1 visa

B-1 'visitor' visa may be playing an increasing role in the IT industry, according to the suit

By Patrick Thibodeau
March 17, 2011 11:27 AM ET

Computerworld - Indian software giant Infosys Technologies has been sued by an employee who says he refused to help the outsourcer get temporary B-1 visas for some workers.

To date, the B-1 visa hasn't played a prominent role in the long-running H-1B visa debate, but its role may change due to the lawsuit filed by Jack 'Jay' Palmer, an Infosys employee since 2008.

B1 business visas are intended for short-term uses, such as consulting with business associates, attending a business convention, settling an estate, negotiating a contract, or to install, service and repair commercial and industrial machinery.

According to B-1 visa rules, the holder can't be paid by a U.S. employer, and immigration attorneys note that it isn't intended to be used in ways that are similar to the H-1B visa. That's where Palmer's lawsuit comes in.

The lawsuit, filed late last month, alleges that Infosys was sending workers holding B-1 visa to customer sites. Unlike H-1B visa rules, holders of B-1 visas are paid by the foreign entity and federal and state income taxes aren't withheld. Among the claims in the lawsuit, therefore, is that customers were overbilled for labor costs for these employees.

When Palmer was asked to write a letter stating "that the employee was coming to the United States for meetings rather than to work at a job," he contacted Infosys' HR department which "confirmed that Infosys' foreign employees could not work in the United States on B-1 visas."

Palmer refused to write the letter.

Following his refusal, Palmer contends that he was threatened and harassed, receiving telephone "calls just hoping he'd die, 'you need to keep your mouth shut and leave us alone' - stuff of that nature," said his attorney, Kenneth Mendelsohn, who's based in Montgomery, Ala. The lawsuit also says he has had to "endure racial taunts or slurs, including being called 'a stupid American' and criticized for being a Christian."

http://www.computerworld.com/s/artic...ers_2011-03-22

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-ra..._b_840633.html

Visa Loophole

Millions of business travelers from across the globe come to the United States every year to attend conferences or negotiate deals. Most of them come and go legally, using business visitor visas issued by the State Department. But a recent investigation by Dan Rather Reports revealed allegations of visa fraud by corporations that are using these visitor visas not to conduct business, but to import foreign laborers to do work -- work that could and should be done by Americans.