U.S. PURSUES H-1B CASE

By D.E.Levine

The U.S. government is seeking $4.9 million from a New Jersey IT firm that it claims is fraudulently using H-1B visas.

South Plainfield, N.J.-based Vision Systems Group, Inc. is alleged to have paid its H-1B workers in multiple states based on low rates in Iowa, through the creation of shell businesses in Iowa.

Charging that the practices used by Vision have deprived U.S. citizens of employment, the initial indictment, part of Operation Pacific Vision, a government investigation that led to the arrest of 11 people in six states on H-1B fraud charges, is the largest H-1B fraud case ever brought by the government.

Vision Systems denies the charges and is fighting in U.S. District Court in Iowa claiming that workers are paid at or above the prevailing wage rates of the places they are working.

The government claims that Vision Systems told its H-1B hires that green cards could be more rapidly obtained through U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) offices outside of New Jersey. It's anticipated that Vision Systems may claim using the faster service at the Iowa ICE offices as a recruiting tool for H-1B workers.