Telugu Techie Faces 14-month Jail In US For H-1B Visa Fraud

For visa fraud, the owner of a technology employment company in San Jose was given a 14-month prison sentence.
A San Jose-based technology employment agency owner was sentenced to 14 months in prison for visa fraud in the United States. The 55-year-old co-owner and operator of Nanosemantics Inc., Kishore Dattapuram, was charged in February 2019 with ten counts of substantive visa fraud and one count of conspiracy to conduct visa fraud, along with two other defendants. Kishore Dattapuram was a co-owner and operator of a San Jose-based employment company that supplied qualified workers to Bay Area tech companies. For employees assigned to client companies, Nanosemantics was paid a commission. To grant temporary authorisation for foreign workers to reside and work for businesses in the United States, Nanosemantics often filed H-1B petitions.
According to a statement issued on April 21, by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, he entered a guilty plea to all charges in November of last year. The prosecution claimed that Nanosemantics was paid commissions for each employee it was able to put in Bay Area tech firms.
On behalf of international employees, the firm filed H-1B visa petitions, granting them temporary permission to reside and work in the United States.
To obtain an H-1B visa, companies must submit an I-129 petition to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) attesting to the existence of a legitimate work offer and including important information such as the job's duration and related pay.
Authorities believe Kishore Dattapuram and two other individuals conspired to submit H-1B applications that made fraudulent claims that foreign workers had employment lined up with particular end-client companies that did not actually exist.
'The goal of the scheme was to secure H-1B visas for candidates before jobs were confirmed, allowing Nanosemantics to quickly place them once real opportunities arose, giving the company an unfair advantage over competitors," the prosecutors added.
Apart from his jail term, Kishore Dattapuram was mandated to complete three years of closely monitored release. A $1,100 special assessment fee, a $7,500 fine, and a forfeiture of $125,456.48 are also required of him.
First Published:

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Mint

31 minutes ago

• Mint

British Airways Halts Dubai, Qatar Flights After US Strikes Iran

British Airways paused flights to Dubai and Doha, increasing aviation disruptions in the Persian Gulf after the US struck three nuclear sites in Iran and Tehran vowed to retaliate. The London-based carrier canceled several flights to Dubai and diverted two planes bound for the emirate overnight, according to data from Flightradar24. One flight took off from Heathrow Airport Saturday night and was diverted to Zurich after it reached Saudi Arabia's airspace in the early hours of Sunday, according to the flight tracking site. Another Dubai-bound jet returned to Heathrow after going as far as Egypt. The carrier also canceled flights to Qatar's capital Doha on Sunday and halted routes to Bahrain through the end of the month due to operational constraints and airspace restrictions. Several American and European airlines paused flights to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar last week after Israel started bombarding Iran. British Airways said it has adjusted its flight schedule as a result of recent events to ensure the safety of customers and crew. The moves highlight growing worries in a slice of the Middle East that is typically considered safe and sheltered from regional dislocations. US President Donald Trump said American bombers struck Iran's three main nuclear sites on Sunday and threatened more attacks if Tehran doesn't capitulate, pulling the US directly into the country's conflict with Israel despite his longtime promises to avoid new wars. Iran has threatened to hit US bases in the Persian Gulf if Washington gets involved and close down the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil trade waterway it borders with the UAE and Oman. Qatar hosts the largest US base in the region, while Bahrain is home to the US Navy's Fifth Fleet. Bahrain said on Sunday that it is activating remote work for 70% of all government ministries and departments in light of regional developments. With assistance from Danny Lee and Siddharth Philip. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Business Standard

34 minutes ago

• Business Standard

FedEx founder Fred Smith, pioneer of express delivery, dies aged 80

Fred Smith, the FedEx Corp. founder who revolutionised the express delivery industry, has died, the company said. He was 80. FedEx started operating in 1973, delivering small parcels and documents more quickly than the postal service. Over the next half-century, Smith, a Marine Corp. veteran, oversaw the growth of a company that became something of an economic bellwether because so many other companies rely on it. Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx became a global transportation and logistics company that averages 17 million shipments per business day. Smith stepped down as CEO in 2022 but remained executive chairman. Smith, a 1966 graduate of Yale University, used a business theory he came up with in college to create a delivery system based on coordinated air cargo flights centred on a main hub, a "hub and spokes" system, as it became known. The company also played a major role in the shift by American business and industry to a greater use of time-sensitive deliveries and less dependence on large inventories and warehouses. Smith once told The Associated Press that he came up with the name Federal Express because he wanted the company to sound big and important when in fact it was a start-up operation with a future far from assured. At the time, Smith was trying to land a major shipping contract with the Federal Reserve Bank that didn't work out. In the beginning, Federal Express had 14 small aircraft operating out of the Memphis International Airport flying packages to 25 US cities. Smith's father, also named Frederick, built a small fortune in Memphis with a regional bus line and other business ventures. Following college, Smith joined the US Marines and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He left the military as a captain in 1969 after two tours in Vietnam where he was decorated for bravery and wounds received in combat. He told The Associated Press in a 2023 interview that everything he did running FedEx came from his experience in the Marines, not what he learned at Yale. Getting Federal Express started was no easy task. Overnight shipments were new to American business and the company had to have a fleet of planes and a system of interconnecting air routes in place from the get-go. Though one of Memphis' best-known and most prominent citizens, Smith generally avoided the public spotlight, devoting his energies to work and family. Despite his low profile, Smith made a cameo appearance in the 2000 movie Castaway starring Tom Hanks. The movie was about a FedEx employee stranded on an island. Memphis has lost its most important citizen, Fred Smith, said U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee, citing Smith's support for everything from the University of Memphis to the city's zoo. FedEx is the engine of our economy, and Fred Smith was its visionary founder. But more than that, he was a dedicated citizen who cared deeply about our city." Smith rarely publicized the donations he and his family made, but he agreed to speak with AP in 2023 about a gift to the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation to endow a new scholarship fund for the children of Navy service members pursuing studies in STEM. The thing that's interested me are the institutions and the causes not the naming or the recognition, Smith said at the time. Asked what it means to contribute to the public good, he replied: America is the most generous country in the world. It's amazing the charitable contributions that Americans make every year. Everything from the smallest things to these massive health care initiatives and the Gates Foundation and everything in between, he said. I think if you've done well in this country, it's pretty churlish for you not to at least be willing to give a pretty good portion of that back to the public interest. And all this is in the great tradition of American philanthropy. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Mint

an hour ago

• Mint

PM Modi calls for de-escalation after US strikes Iranian nuclear sites

New Delhi: After the US attacked three nuclear sites in Iran, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and expressed deep concern over the escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict. Taking to social media platform X, the prime minister said he reiterated India's call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy to restore peace. 'Spoke with President of Iran @drpezeshkian. We discussed in detail about the current situation. Expressed deep concern at the recent escalations. Reiterated our call for immediate de-escalation, dialogue and diplomacy as the way forward and for early restoration of regional peace, security and stability,' Modi said. The US on Saturday launched air strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities — Natanz, Fordo and Isfahan — sharply escalating tensions in West Asia. In a televised address on Sunday (India time), US President Donald Trump confirmed the direct assault on Iran's nuclear programme, ending days of speculation over Washington's entry into the Israel-Iran conflict. He warned that further strikes could follow. 'Remember, there are many targets left. Tonight was the most difficult of them all by far, and perhaps the most lethal. But if peace doesn't come quickly we will go to those other targets with precision, speed and skill," Trump said. Iran had earlier issued strong warnings against US involvement. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had cautioned that any American attack would cause 'irreparable damage.' India has deep strategic and economic ties with Iran, including its involvement in the development of Chabahar Port. A further escalation risks turmoil in global energy markets and could disrupt India's crude imports. The US intervention has also heightened fears of a wider regional war, as Iran has repeatedly threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz and target US bases and assets in the Gulf region. Several countries have called for de-escalation. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday urged Iran to return to diplomacy following the US strikes. Meanwhile, media reports citing Washington-based group Human Rights Activists said Israeli strikes on Iran have killed at least 865 people and wounded 3,396 others.