look news india
A very shocking and disturbing case has come to light regarding Indian Tech Professionals (IT Workers) who came to America with the dream of big salary and brilliant career. A sensational revelation has come to light that a USA company forced one of its Indian employees to pay a huge amount of one lakh dollars (about more than Rs 83 lakh) in exchange for maintaining H-1B Visa status. The company had clearly threatened the employee that if he did not pay this amount, his visa would be immediately canceled and he would be deported back to India. This incident has created a stir among the American IT sector and the Indian expatriates living there.
Dirty game of blackmailing in the name of visa extension
This entire matter came to light when the victim Indian citizen complained about this mental and financial harassment to the US Labor Department and Immigration officials. According to the information received, the employer (company) first got the Indian worker to sign several false agreements on the pretext of renewing the H-1B visa and taking forward the process of green card. After this the company officials directly placed a demand of one lakh dollars. When the employee expressed his inability to pay such a huge amount, direct threats were made to fire him from the job and revoke his legal immigration status.
Big action and strict penalty from American administration
After this brave complaint by the Indian employee, US Federal agencies and Labor Department (DOL) have taken a tough stance against the company. According to US laws, the entire responsibility for the processing of H-1B visa and the legal expenses related to it lies with the employer, not the employee. Taking this matter seriously, the Labor Department has found the company guilty of violating the law. The administration has not only prepared to impose a heavy fine on the company, but has also issued an order to provide the victim Indian worker his entire outstanding salary and compensation. Also, the process of blacklisting such companies for future has been started.
There is a stir in the tech corridors from Hyderabad, Bengaluru to California.
With the arrival of this big news, the discussion regarding security and rights has intensified among Indian IT professionals working in India’s major tech hubs like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Delhi-NCR to America’s Silicon Valley (California) and New Jersey. Local expatriates and legal experts say that many small and fake consultancy companies often take advantage of the helplessness of Indian youth and do this kind of exploitation. Experts have advised that if such blackmailing happens to any Indian citizen in America in the name of visa or salary, then without fear, they should immediately lodge their complaint on the official website of the US Labor Department so that their legal protection can be ensured in time.
