Wipro, Infosys, TCS face US visa abuse charge

Information technology majors Infosys and Wipro today strongly denied accusations that they had "abused" US visa regulations. Their reaction followed a media report from Washington earlier in the day stating TCS, Infosys and Wipro were abusing the L-1 visa regime.

These companies were acting as "bodyshops", bringing in foreign workers through the L-1 system and then sub-contracting them out to other businesses, Michael W Gildea, executive director of the department for professional employees, AFL-CIO, America's largest labour federation, told the House International Relations Committee on Wednesday.

Dan Stein, executive director for American Immigration Reform, told the committee that unlike applicants for other categories of temporary employment visas, L-1 visa holders did not need to maintain a legal intent to return home.

Nandan Nilekani, president, CEO and managing director of Infosys Technologies, said his company fully complied with US visa regulations in letter and spirit.

"Infosys adheres to this regulation and does not differentiate between H1 and L-1 pay scales, although not legally mandated," he said.

Wipro, too, denied the charge. "We have read about the news item regarding the alleged abuse of L-1 visa regulations by certain Indian companies. We believe that we are in total compliance with the requirements of visa laws. The question of their abuse does not arise," a Wipro spokeswoman said.