Infy To Be Fined USD 35 Million For Wrong Use Of Travel Visas

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the US government is set to levy a huge fine on IT giant Infosys, claiming that the company had illegally placed workers on visitor visas rather than work visas at big corporate clients across the US. The IT giant will have to cough up as much as USD 35 million on charges that it had used ‘inexpensive, easy-to-obtain’ B-1 visas meant for short business visits instead of the ‘harder-to-get’ H-1B visas for bringing in an unknown number of employees for long-term stays.

The US government has been probing claims of worker displacement, alleging that foreign workers were taking up jobs meant for qualified US professionals. The fine imposed on Infosys comes as a result of the same probe. The authorities there are trying to set a deterrent example for others to follow.

Infosys has been reported to have set aside the sum it expected to be called upon to pay in fines, including the legal costs. The company has an impressive client list in the US, including some marquee names such as Goldman Sachs Group, Walmart and Cisco.

Now here are some pertinent questions that need to be raised in these circumstances. Why isn't the US able to counter the threat of Indian talent by developing its own? And if it is not able to do so, why don't they simply accept that they need global talent for their industry to prosper?

Why should India not be counteracting these pressure tactics by levying higher duties on companies like KFC, McDonalds and Coke? To take such measures needs a lot of spine on the political front. And then, even if we garner the political will and gumption, countering the moves with our own embargos would likely be construed as a poor understanding of how the global economies are linked today.

What really then is the US understanding of ‘free trade’, an economic philosophy it avowedly champions? The imposition of fines on companies like Infosys brings out the one-sided approach to free trade that the US has. It is time Indian business and politics begin reacting and defending their best interests, just like the US has been doing for ages. To be a world leader, think and act like a world leader.