Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 01:50pm on 19 Dec 2025,Friday India Global
Indian-origin American diplomat Mahvash Siddiqui urged the US to pause its H-1B visa programme pending a full audit, alleging systematic fraud and bribery by unqualified Indian applicants. Writing for the Centre for Immigrant Studies, she claimed many applicants with computer science degrees lacked relevant skills and failed basic coding tests. Siddiqui, who served at the US Consulate in Chennai between 2005-2007, described the city as the "H-1B visa fraud capital," noting applications surged from 100,000 annually to over 4 million. She alleged corrupt HR officials enabled fake employment letters and cited industrialized fraud systems in Hyderabad's Ameerpet selling fake degrees. She recommended stricter verification, penalties for fraud, and prioritizing US STEM graduates. (PC: India Today)
