H-1B visa fraud: 30 firms under investigation after reports of ‘ghost offices’ to hire workers in Texas

Texas has opened a sweeping probe into alleged abuse of the H-1B visa system, with nearly 30 firms accused of running “ghost offices” to secure foreign workers.Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday announced that his office has issued Civil Investigative Demands to multiple North Texas-based companies suspected of misusing the visa programme.According to the Attorney General’s office, the firms are believed to have engaged in fraudulent practices designed to exploit the H-1B system. Among those named are Tekpro IT LLC, Fame PBX LLC, 1st Ranking Technologies LLC, Qubitz Tech Systems LLC, Blooming Clouds LLC, Virat Solutions, Inc., Oak Technologies Inc, Techpath Inc, and Techquency LLC.“Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued Civil Investigative Demands (‘CIDs’) to nearly 30 North Texas businesses as part of an ongoing investigation into suspected fraud and abuse of the H-1B visa programme,” the official statement said.Investigators say some companies may have created so-called “ghost offices”, which only exist on paper. These offices allegedly give the appearance of active business operations, allowing firms to sponsor foreign workers under false pretences.“Reports indicate that several of these entities have operated so-called ‘ghost offices’ as a scheme in which businesses falsely represent active operations in order to sponsor foreign workers,” the statement said.As part of the probe, the companies have been asked to hand over detailed records. These include employee lists, descriptions of services or products, financial documents, and internal communications related to their operations.Paxton also credited right-wing social media influencer Sarah Gonzales for highlighting the issue in her reporting, videos and documentaries that covered the alleged fraud. He said: “I want to thank @SaraGonzalesTX for her efforts in exposing H-1B fraud across the state.”“I will not allow the H-1B programme to be abused by bad actors seeking to use it as a loophole for allowing foreign nationals to invade Texas. My office will continue working to uncover and put an end to fraud within the H-1B programme,” he said.The latest action builds on a broader investigation first announced on January 28, targeting suspected misuse of the visa system across Texas.The aim is to ensure the programme operates within the law and benefits American workers as intended.The crackdown follows a recent case in California that showed similar concerns. In April, two Indian-origin men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit H-1B visa fraud by filing applications for jobs that did not exist.Sampath Rajidi and Sreedhar Mada were accused of submitting fraudulent petitions between June 2020 and January 2023. Once approved, the visas were passed on to unrelated clients. Rajidi ran visa service firms, while Mada used his position as Chief Information Officer at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources to lend credibility to the applications. Both men knowingly submitted false information to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), gaining an unfair advantage and reducing the number of visas available to legitimate applicants.The filling said: “They submitted false information knowing such information was material to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) decisions in granting visas. As a result of their conspiracy, Rajidi and Mada gained an unfair advantage over other firms and depleted the pool of H-1B visas available to competing firms.”