The H-1B trap: How some Indian workers are exploited by 'desi consultancies'

FOr thousands of native american students and graduates, the H-1B visa represents a fine to the American daydream - a horse barn technology book of job, a six-figure salary and, eventually, permanent residency in the United States.But according to a new book by journalist and film critic Tanul Thakur, that dream often turns into a nightmare involving fake jobs, forged resumes, unpaid wages and threats of deportation.In 'Wild Wild East: Exiled Americans, Enslaved Indians and the Systemic Abuse of the H-1B Visa Programme', Thakur shines a light on the world of so-called "desi consultancies" — small staffing firms, often run by South Asians, that operate on the fringes of America's technology labour market.What are desi consultancies?Commonly known in the industry as "body shops", desi consultancies act as intermediaries between Indian tech workers and American employers.Unlike large Indian IT firms such as TCS or Cognizant, many of these companies do not build products or provide technology services of their own. Their business model revolves around supplying workers to larger firms, universities or Fortune 500 companies through layers of recruiters, subcontractors and staffing vendors.The model itself is legal and widely used across industries. However, critics argue that some consultancies exploit loopholes in the H-1B system and prey on vulnerable workers desperate for a foothold in the US.Also read: Immigration lawyer reveals the calculation pushing Indian H-1B green card holders toward the UKThe promise: A job, an H-1B and a green cardAccording to Thakur, many Indian graduates in the US or aspiring migrants in India are approached with offers that sound too good to be true.A recruiter promises an IT job, H-1B sponsorship, a comfortable salary and sometimes even a pathway to a green card — often within minutes of speaking to the candidate and without assessing technical skills or experience.The catch, workers allegedly discover later, is that the promised job either does not exist or is contingent on the consultancy finding a client willing to hire them."Many workers arrive in the US only to realise they have effectively been trafficked from India with false promises of employment," Thakur said.Also read: US envoy Sergio Gor issues key clarification on Indians amid Trump's visa rulesFake resumes and proxy interviewsOne of the most controversial practices described in the book is the alleged use of inflated resumes and proxy interviews.Fresh graduates or professionals from unrelated disciplines are reportedly asked to claim they possess seven or eight years of experience in niche technologies in order to make them employable in a competitive US market.Some workers are allegedly trained for a few weeks before being sent to interviews where another individual may answer technical questions on their behalf.Once placed at a client company, they often rely on "on-the-job support" from remote experts who help them perform tasks they were never trained to do.Crowded apartments and unpaid wagesThe exploitation, according to the book, does not end once workers reach America.Thakur describes cases in which several workers are housed together in cramped apartments while waiting for projects. Salaries may be delayed for months, reduced without warning or withheld altogether during periods when workers are "on the bench" and not assigned to clients.Because their legal status in the US depends on their employer-sponsored visa, many workers feel unable to complain or switch jobs.The fear of losing legal status, deportation or being blacklisted often keeps them silent. Why workers stay trappedUnlike many employment visas globally, the H-1B is tied to the sponsoring employer rather than the worker.This creates an imbalance of power where employees become dependent on the company that controls their immigration status."The combination of cheap labour and unfree labour is what makes the system attractive to bad actors," Thakur argues in the book.Workers who leave their employer risk losing their immigration status unless they quickly find another sponsor.Andhra Pradesh and Telangana connectionThe book argues that Andhra Pradesh and Telangana emerged as hubs for the consultancy ecosystem because of their long-standing migration links with the US technology sector and the rapid expansion of engineering colleges during the IT boom of the 1990s and early 2000s.However, Thakur stresses that visa fraud is not confined to any one state or community and that individuals from across South Asia participate in the ecosystem.Calls for reformThe author proposes several reforms, including stricter wage requirements, greater scrutiny of staffing firms and making visas portable so workers can change employers without jeopardising their legal status.He also argues for stronger enforcement against companies found violating labour laws or engaging in visa fraud.The debate over H-1B visas has long centred on whether the programme helps America attract global talent or suppresses wages through cheaper labour. Thakur's book adds another dimension to that debate: the hidden human cost borne by many of the workers chasing the American dream.