India Infosys says gets subpoena from U.S. court on visas

[KeepItReal]

Source: Reuters

Indian software services exporter Infosys Technologies said on Tuesday it received a subpoena from a grand jury in a U.S. district court that requires the company to provide certain documents and records related to B1 business visas.

B1 business visas allow companies to send their employees to the United States for short-term business purposes.

Infosys said it intended to comply with the subpoena and to cooperate with the investigation.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/24/infosys-subpoena-idUSWNAS219420110524

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More details:

North America, which includes the US, is the largest revenue earner ($6 billion) for Infosys and accounted for 66 per cent of its sales last year. Infosys, which mentioned the employee lawsuit effects as a risk in its latest annual report, said the subpoena required it to provide information to the grand jury regarding the company’s sponsorships for, and uses of, B-1 business visas.

B-1 visas are issued for short-term business trips for such purposes as attending business seminars and restricts employees from engaging in gainful employment during their stay. On the other hand, H-1B visas are longer-term visas issued to people with a minimum bachelor’s degree who work in specialty occupations.

Palmer in his lawsuit had alleged, among other things, that Infosys was improperly utilising B-1 business visitor visa programme. He had alleged that he was threatened and harassed after refusing to help Infosys bring workers on B-1 visas for work, which he believed required H-1B visas.

Following the filing of the lawsuit, US senator Chuck Grassley submitted a letter to secretary of state and the secretary of homeland security, requesting that their respective departments review the B-1 business visa programme and investigate the manner in which it was being used by companies, including Infosys.

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/infosys-gets-subpoena-us-visa-use-142