Infosys settles visa case; agrees to pay $34 million

The issue was settled with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas

Leading software services exporter Infosys Ltd. announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to pay $34 million dollars to settle allegations about its alleged violations of U.S. visa regulations. The settlement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas “resolves all issues with the U.S. Department of State, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” the company said in a statement.

Infosys said allegations and investigations pertaining to I-9 “paperwork errors and visa matters” were the subject of investigation by the U.S. Federal agencies, the company said. The I-9 Form is used to ensure that employers “verify” employees’ identity and eligibility to work in the U.S. The company said the “errors” pertained to 2010-11. It claimed that the company started correcting the “errors” before the investigation commenced in 2011.

Referring to the allegations, Infosys said, “There is no evidence that the I-9 paperwork violations allowed any Infosys employee to work beyond their visa authorisation.” Infosys’ denial of “systemic visa fraud, misuse of visas for competitive advantage, or immigration abuse,” were part of the settlement, it said. It also denied the charge that it abused the shorter term B-1 Visas for H-1B visas for employees travelling to the U.S. on company work. It said Infosys employees holding B-1 visas accounted for only 0.02 per cent of the days that company employees spent on working on projects in the U.S. in 2012.

“This settlement removes the uncertainty of prolonged litigation and allows us to continue to focus on delivering measurable results for our clients,” Infosys said.