Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, an Indian American businessman, is facing allegations of manipulating the H-1B visa lottery system in the US. An investigation by news agency Bloomberg found that Reddy was orchestrating the scam using a complex network of companies while finding and exploiting loopholes in the visa process.
Reddy, who has connections in both US and India, manipulated the H-1B visa lottery system through “multiple registration” where he submitted several applications for the same person under different company names. This increased their odds of being selected in the lottery.
Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC, Machine Learning Technologies LLC and several other entities were owned by Reddy, the news agency said. These companies altogether submitted thousands of entries which helped them secure hundreds of H-1B visas.
Reddy claims he was merely an agent for the companies but the news agency citing documents it accessed said he and his wife owned and controlled those entities.
The tactics deployed by Reddy not only put at disadvantage the companies that followed the rules but it was also ‘gaming’ the lottery system using its loopholes.
Bloomberg data showed that Reddy’s candidates were virtually assured lottery wins. They have accrued more than 300 visas since 2020 and secured 54 visas in 2023, far more than any other year.
Recent changes to the H-1B visa lottery system, designed to prevent fraud and prioritize genuine talent, have been manipulated by staffing companies. One such modification, which gave better weightage to applicants endorsed by multiple companies, was particularly exploited.
According to data accessed by Bloomberg, the median salary at staffing firms in 2023 was approximately $90,000, while regular employers offered around $125,000. Reddy’s recruits, however, were making about $87,000.
Reddy is being represented by Lucas Garritson, a lawyer from Texas. He told the news agency that the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) did not implement proper procedures for prohibiting the manipulation of the loophole and said that there is no proof that Reddy’s company broke rules.
Reddy is involved with electoral politics as well and had contested as a candidate for the Indian National Congress (INC) party from Telangana’s Adilabad constituency and currently is the party’s in-charge for the constituency.
The news agency said that he owns a media outlet and a firm that ‘supports farmers’. The Bloomberg report said that even though it appears that his role in the H-1B visa lottery scam was minimal, their investigation suggests he played a substantial role.
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