US Diplomat Exposes Visa System Abuses, Blames Senior Managers for Ignoring Concerns

A US diplomat of Indian origin has spoken out about alleged visa fraud in the country's immigration system. Mahvash Siddiqui, who worked at the Chennai consulate two decades ago, claims that junior officers repeatedly told their seniors about IT conglomerates gaming the visa system but were never taken seriously.

The Department of Labor recently suspended Cognizant from filing new Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) applications due to an ongoing probe into alleged visa fraud. Siddiqui wrote an article for Center for Immigration Studies detailing her experience and understanding from working at the visa frontline 20 years ago.

She recalled that there was a Business Express program at the time, which offered fast visa adjudication for IT outsourcing firms like TCS, Wipro, Satyam, Infosys, Accenture, and Cognizant. However, not only foreign IT firms but also US companies like General Electric, Microsoft, and Honeywell received fast services with minimal documentary scrutiny.

Siddiqui said she had an academic and technical background and was able to question candidates beyond the expected questions during expedited interviews. When basic computer science concepts were tested, the corporate facade collapsed quickly across both foreign and domestic multinational applicants.