Infosys agrees to pay record $34 mn to settle US visa row

In one of the largest immigration fines ever, India's second largest software exporter Infosys today agreed to pay USD 34 million to settle its visa row with the US but denied visa fraud.
Completing a civil settlement, which removes a long-standing cloud over visa issues in a geography which accounts for a major chunk of its revenues, Infosys agreed to pay USD 34 million to resolve all the allegations.
Infosys allegedly sent employees to the US with B-1 visitor visas and not on H1-Bs permits designed for high-tech workers.
"The settlement is focused on historical I-9 paperwork errors from 2010-2011 that Infosys began correcting before the investigation began. There is no evidence that the I-9 paperwork violations allowed any Infosys employee to work beyond their visa authorisation," Infosys said in a statement.

The settlement concludes the investigation by US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Texas and resolves all issues with the US Department of State, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) relating to I-9 paperwork errors and visa matters that were the subject of the investigation.
"There were no criminal charges or court rulings against the company. Furthermore, there are no limitations on the company's eligibility for federal contracts or access to US visa programs as a result of the settlement," Infosys said.

Form I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorisation of individuals hired for employment in the US.

The case filed by Jay Palmer in 2011 had influenced the investigations into visa misuse and I-9 paperwork errors by the US government, sources said.
"Today's settlement is largely about I-9 issues. The US agencies have accepted Infosys' rebuttal on visa misuse allegations," the sources said.
Infosys denied and disputed any claims of systemic visa fraud, misuse of visas for competitive advantage.
"Those claims are untrue and are assertions that remain unproven. The company's use of B-1 visas was for legitimate business purposes and not in any way intended to circumvent the requirements of the H-1B program," Infosys said.