US launches major H-1B visa fraud investigation; official names Cognizant

The US on Wednesday launched an investigation into alleged fraud in the H-1B and PERM work visas by several companies, with a federal labour official saying that Indian IT firm Cognizant is among the companies under scrutiny.

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) under the Department of Labour has uncovered widespread schemes in which employers and labour brokers submitted fraudulent applications, exploited foreign workers through coercive wage-kickback arrangements, and undercut American workers by flooding the market with below-wage labour, an official statement said.