Thread: Tech company indicted for H-1B visa fraud in Iowa

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/02/ ... 45947.html

Associated Press
Tech company, officials indicted for fraud in Iowa
By MICHAEL J. CRUMB , 02.12.09, 02:11 PM EST

Federal authorities on Thursday announced the arrests and indictments of 11 people in six states as part of an investigation into visa and mail fraud.

An indictment names Vision Systems Group Inc., a New Jersey company that has an office in Coon Rapids, Iowa.

U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker said the information technology company brought highly educated foreign workers into the United States to fill supposed vacancies in high-tech jobs.

The company is accused of filing documents with the government showing the workers were employed in Iowa, where they could be paid less than if they worked on the coasts.

"We allege those workers were actually on the coasts working in much higher-wage jobs although they were receiving wages that were the prevailing wage in Iowa and thereby, we allege, dislocating and displacing United States workers that could have done those jobs in those locations," Whitaker said.

The government also is seeking the forfeiture of $7.4 million in proceeds raised through the alleged offenses.

Whitaker said the workers came to the country under an H-1B visa, which allows college educated foreign workers to come to the U.S. to fill vacancies in high-tech jobs, such as computer programming and engineering.

"This is an enforcement effort that points to a significant vulnerability in our visa process and we're trying ... to close these loopholes and to take away the incentive to conduct these fraudulent schemes," Whitaker said. "This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as this investigation goes."

This one reason why the prevailing wage protections do not work. Instead of the national prevailing wage the H-1B has been watered down to read "local" prevailing wage. Lower wages spread like cancer to the coasts and diminish the established prevailing wage.

I like this news. HEAVY FINES to pay off the American people for their criminal activity...Jail time too please. Thanks

Have to laugh, because we were crazy, this couldn't be going on! Dugh?

Originally Posted by crazybird

Have to laugh, because we were crazy, this couldn't be going on! Dugh?

Remember that we were called 'racists' or 'hateful' when we pointed out that millions of foreigners were breaking our laws and lowering the quality of our lives. We have something very important to preserve in this country and that is called the law and no amount of Political Correctness Thuggery or million dollar LaRaza type organizations is going to stop that.

And they say that E-Verify is not reliable..well the visa system isn't, that's for sure.