Texas journalist Sara Gonzales, who knocked on the doors of a few H-1B addresses in Texas, exposing a ‘major scam’ in the state, targeted Indian recruiters offering ‘H-1B only’ jobs on LinkedIn. Gonzales said she visited the websites of the companies and found a common pattern: most of the contact numbers given on the sites do not work, most of these companies claim that they are expanding in India; and they have unpolished/ wrong choice of English words on their sites. “Let me be clear to the fraudsters. We are not done. Keep watching. It may be you we are exposing very shortly,” Gonzales said. The journalist added that it was her expose that prompted Texas Governor Greg Abbott to announce a freeze on H-1B hiring ban in state agencies. Also, Texas AG Ken Paxton announced an investigation into three private companies. Gonzales said she researched for an evening and found an avalanche of Indian recruiters who posted ‘H-1B only’ ads on LinkedIn. Revealing their names and the companies they have been hiring, Gonzales read out one advertisement that was offering jobs only for H-4s, who are dependents of H-1Bs. “This is the whole scheme. You get in, you get to bring your whole family, you bring your children. Then your children need to be taught by another H-1B. And that H-1B brings their family in, and they bring their children. It is a recurring, never-ending cycle,” Gonzales said adding that H-1B is supposed to be used only when American talent is not found for some very niche skills.
