Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
International

Denied H-1B Visa To Indian Techie, Silicon Valley Firm Sues US Government

Darpan News Desk IANS, 17 May, 2019 08:20 PM

    A Silicon Valley-based IT company has filed a lawsuit against the US government for denying the most sought-after H-1B visa to a highly qualified Indian professional, terming the renunciation "arbitrary" and a "clear abuse of discretion".


    Xterra Solutions alleged in its lawsuit that the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) improperly denied H-1B visa to Praharsh Chandra Sai Venkata Anisetty, 28, whom it had hired as a Business System Analyst.


    The company's H-1B petition on behalf of Mr Anisetty was denied on the sole ground that the job offered to him did not qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation, the lawsuit said.

     

    "The denial is not supported by substantial evidence in the record, is contrary to established legal precedent, and is arbitrary, capricious and constitutes a clear abuse of discretion," the company alleged and urged the Northern District of California US District Court to set aside the USCIS order.


    The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

     

    The technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.


    The most sought-after visa has an annual numerical limit cap of 65,000 visas each fiscal year as mandated by the US Congress. The first 20,000 petitions filed on behalf of beneficiaries with a US masters degree or higher are exempt from the cap.


    Mr Anisetty holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering (Electronics and Communication Engineering) as well as a Master's of Science degree in Information Technology and Management from the University of Texas at Dallas. He currently holds valid H-4 dependent status through his wife, the principal beneficiary of an H-1B application.


    From 2014 to 2016, Mr Anisetty held valid F-1 non-immigrant status as a student enrolled in the information technology and management master's program at Texas University.


    Later, he also participated in Curricular Practical Training, an employment-training programme with an established academic curriculum in the form of cooperative education programmes offered by sponsoring employers through agreements with F-1 students' universities.


    The company asserted that Mr Anisetty's current position as a Business Systems Analyst meets one or more of the criteria for an H-1B specialty occupation. "USCIS's decision dated February 19, 2019 denying Xterra's H-1B petition, filed on behalf of Mr Anisetty, was arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and not in accordance with the law," the lawsuit said.


    The USCIS gave no explanation as to why, despite Xterra's significant evidentiary submissions in its request for evidence, documenting that Mr Anisetty's position as a Business Analyst met all four criteria for a specialty occupation, it denied Xterra's petition to change Mr Anisetty's status to that of the principal beneficiary of an H-1B petition, it said.


    The company alleged that the USCIS acted arbitrarily and capriciously in finding that the current position offered to the Indian professional did not meet criterion that "a baccalaureate or higher degree or its equivalent is normally the minimum requirement for entry into the particular position".

    MORE International ARTICLES

    7 Detained Over ‘Forced Conversion’, Marriages Of 2 Hindu Teen Girls In Pak

    The two teenaged girls were allegedly kidnapped by a group of men from their home in Ghotki district in Sindh on the eve of Holi.

    7 Detained Over ‘Forced Conversion’, Marriages Of 2 Hindu Teen Girls In Pak

    Cash Strapped Pakistan Receives $2.2 Billion From China

    "The State Bank of Pakistan has received RMB 15 billion value equivalent to USD 2.2 billion as proceeds of the loan obtained by the government of Pakistan from China," the central bank tweeted.  

    Cash Strapped Pakistan Receives $2.2 Billion From China

    British Airways Flight Lands In Edinburgh Instead Of Dusseldorf By Mistake

    British Airways Flight Lands In Edinburgh Instead Of Dusseldorf By Mistake
    A British Airways flight destined for Dusseldorf in Germany landed in the Scotish capital Edinburgh by mistake, after the flight paperwork was submitted incorrectly, a media report said on Monday.

    British Airways Flight Lands In Edinburgh Instead Of Dusseldorf By Mistake

    5 Indian Sailors Return After Being Jailed For 13 Months In Greece

    The sailors were on board merchant cargo vessel "MV Andromeda'' that had set sail from Cyprus to Libya in December 2017.  

    5 Indian Sailors Return After Being Jailed For 13 Months In Greece

    Indian Man's Medical Bill In Dubai Hospital Shoots Up To 18 Lakhs

    Indian Man's Medical Bill In Dubai Hospital Shoots Up To 18 Lakhs
    After failing to procure travel insurance for his parents during their visit to Dubai, the hospital bill for an Indian expat's father at a hospital here has exceeded 100,000 dirhams ($27,225), the media reported on Sunday.    

    Indian Man's Medical Bill In Dubai Hospital Shoots Up To 18 Lakhs

    6 Killed As Car Rams Into Crowd In China; Driver Shot Dead

    A man rammed his car into a crowd in China’s central Hubei province, killing six people and injuring seven others before being shot dead by the police on Friday.

    6 Killed As Car Rams Into Crowd In China; Driver Shot Dead