Hyderabad: Telangana Congress MLA candidate from Adilabad Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, has come under scrutiny for his alleged involvement in an immigration scam to manipulate the H1B visa lottery system in the US. However, Reddy has denied all allegations and threatened legal action against those spreading the false allegations.
An investigation by Bloomberg into Reddy’s activities reveals a complex network of companies and a systematic exploitation of the US H1B visa process, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the entire system.
Bloomberg reported that Reddy, a figure with ties to both the US and India, has been implicated in a scheme that manipulated the H1B visa lottery system through a process known as “multiple registration.” This tactic involves submitting numerous applications for the same individuals under different company names, significantly increasing their chances of being selected in the lottery.
According to the Bloomberg report, Reddy controlled several entities, including Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC, Machine Learning Technologies LLC, and others.
These companies, submitted thousands of entries, securing hundreds of H1B visas to the US. This manipulation not only gamed the lottery system but also disadvantaged companies that followed all the rules necessitated for getting the visa.
Data from 2020 to 2023 accessed by Bloomberg shows that Reddy’s candidates were virtually assured lottery wins. His companies got a total of 54 US H1B visas, far more than any previous year. They scored more than 300 since 2020.
Changes were made in the lottery system to stop the fraud and pick the right talent to overcome all tactics. The median salary at a staffing firm in 2023 was about USD 90,000, the data shows, compared with USD 125,000 for regular employers. Reddy’s recruits made about USD 87,000.
A Texas-based lawyer Lucas Garritson representing Reddy, told Bloomberg that United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS) hadn’t followed the proper procedures for prohibiting fraud in the H1B visa process, nor did it have proof that Reddy’s companies broke the rules.
Reddy’s involvement goes beyond just business. He was the Congress Candidate from the Adilabad Assembly constituency. He has also established a foundation to support farmers and owns a media outlet. Bloomberg report states, that despite his claims of minimal involvement in the companies linked to the visa fraud, documents and public statements suggest that Reddy had a more substantial role.
Amid these allegations, Reddy issued a statement denying all claims of fraud in the process of applying for H1B visas by his company.
“Those who are unable to digest watching a person like me born in a middle-class farmer’s family achieve greater heights in success, will be disappointed for sure,” said Srinivasa Reddy reacting to the allegations levelled against him.
“After getting all permissions from the government, as per the regulations I have been running the business. The attempts of my political adversaries to tarnish my image by conspiring against me with political vengeance will ultimately fail,” Reddy stated.
He further warned of legal consequences against those misrepresenting facts and spreading false propaganda against him. “We will approach the cyber crime police against those spreading the rumours on social media too.”
