Infosys denies misusing US visas

Infosys has denied misusing B-1 or H-1B visas to send employees to the US to work at clients’ sites.

“We do not have a policy to use the B-1 visa to circumvent the H-1B visa. Similarly, there is no policy to misuse the H-1B programme,” Infosys CEO S D Shibulal told reporters here.

Refuting charges by one of its US employees, Jack Palmer, that Infosys misused B-1 visas meant for business consultation or attending training, Shibulal said the company had a policy that required its employees to fully comply with the immigration laws and visa rules in 30 countries across the world, including the US where it had clients. “On occasions where individuals have reported seeing or hearing of employees who may have acted in ways inconsistent with our policy, we investigated them and have taken disciplinary action, including dismissal from the company.

The US television channel Commercial Broadcasting Service (CBS) on Thursday quoted Palmer saying Infosys brought Indian workers illegally to the US and often abused business visa rules requiring foreign workers to be paid US market rate. Palmer also alleged Indian workers in his team were paid substantially less than an American would have made in the same job.