Who is Kandi Srinivasa Reddy, ex-Congress candidate, being linked to H-1B visa lottery scam?

A major scam related to the United States’ sought-after H-1B visa lottery scheme has come to light, with the name of a Telangana Congress leader cropping up. Kandi Srinivasa Reddy is alleged to be involved in exploiting the H-1B visa lottery system.

An investigation by Bloomberg has unravelled how the American lottery system was “rigged”. The H-1B visa is a nonimmigrant work visa that lets US employers hire foreigners with specialised skills.

What is the H-1B visa scam? Who is Kandi Srinivasa Reddy and what is his alleged role? Let’s understand.

H-1B visa lottery scam

Bloomberg has unearthed how the H-1B visa lottery system is being manipulated by outsourcing and staffing companies.

According to the report, of the 446,000 applicants who sought the H-1B visas last year, 85,000 were successful. While multinational outsourcing companies got 11,600 visas, another 22,600 went to IT staffing firms.

The staffing firms submitted many entries for the same worker, gaming the system, reported Bloomberg.

The financial news outlet collected data on lotteries conducted between 2020 and 2023. The staffing firms used the method of “multiple registration” to cheat the lottery system. They submitted several lottery entries for the same individual to increase their chances, which the US officials identify as “fraud”.

The report says that about 15,500 visas were acquired through such fraudulent means.

One staffing firm operator used a dozen companies to enter the same person as many as 15 times, obtaining hundreds of H-1B visas while other US businesses and talented immigrants missed out.

Bloomberg’s investigation found the alleged role of Kandi Srinivasa Reddy in “rigging” the lottery system.

Who is Kandi Srinivasa Reddy?

Reddy has links to Congress. He earned a master’s degree in the US and was later employed as a tech consultant. The businessman eventually settled near Dallas in Texas.

Reddy started his outfit Cloud Big Data Technologies LLC in 2013, as per the Bloomberg report. Reddy, who describes himself as a “common farmer’s child”, established a foundation to support farmers in India and his own TV and online news portal.

In 2023, Reddy unsuccessfully contested the Assembly polls from the Adilabad constituency in Telangana. He presented himself to voters as a “man of humble roots” who had become a “successful entrepreneur” in the US, reported Bloomberg.

According to Myneta.info, Reddy is a software engineer, who is also involved in agriculture. His spouse’s profession has been mentioned as business and agriculture.

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Reddy’s ‘role’ in H-1B lottery scam

Reddy’s Cloud Big Data submitted the names of over 280 employees in the 2020 lottery.

As per Bloomberg, a dozen other companies that Reddy controlled which had similar names and websites and coinciding email addresses entered many of the same names.

The report says his companies won more than 300 H-1Bs since 2020 by gaming the system.

After securing the visa, Reddy’s company rented contract to corporations such as Meta Platforms Inc and HSBC Holdings Plc. Cloud Big Data’s advertisement shows that it took 20 per cent or 30 per cent of the worker’s pay, which could total $15,000 or more each year per worker.

Speaking to Bloomberg in a phone interview, Reddy said that he is just a “registered agent” of the companies and is not much involved in them. However, he told Texas authorities that he is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Cloud Big Data.

His election affidavit in India reveals he or his wife control all the companies.

Reddy has denied doing anything illegal. He told Times of India, “When multiple visa entries are filed, the choice is up to the employees to choose which company they would like. From 2024, changes were made, and passport numbers need to be entered. Now, if multiple entries are filled, it will reflect everywhere.”

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has changed the rules this year to stop multiple registrations for the lottery system.

Lucas Garritson, Reddy’s lawyer, told Bloomberg the USCIS had challenged the visas of a number of companies for exploiting the lottery system. However, it did not take steps to ban the misuse, nor it could prove that Reddy’s companies violated rules.

With inputs from agencies