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http://in.rediff.com/money/2004/feb/05us1.htm

L1 visa: Infosys, Wipro deny US charge

February 05, 2004 20:40 IST

Infosys and Wipro, the country's two leading software companies, on
Thursday denied the allegation that they have been abusing the United
States' L-1 visa regulations.

"Infosys fully complies with visa statutes and regulations in letter
and in spirit. Infosys adheres to this regulation and does not
differentiate between H1-B and L-1 pay scales, although not legally
mandated," Infosys CEO and managing director Nandan M Nilekani said in
a statement.

A Wipro spokeswoman said the question of abusing any type of visa
regulation did not arise and the company complied with the
requirements of the visa laws.

"We believe that we are in total compliance with the requirements of
visa laws. The question of their abuse does not arise," he told PTI.

The two companies were responding to the US labour organisations'
allegation that Indian firms, namely Infosys, Wipro, TCS, had been
acting as "bodyshops", sending Indian workers to the US through the
L-1 system and then subcontracting them out to other businesses.

Infosys said L-1 visa regulations stipulated that only employees with
specialised knowledge or holding managerial or executive positions
could file an application.

"Most of our employees stay in the US for the duration of the project,
which is typically one to two years, and return to the home country,"
Nilekani said.

Infosys continues to work with governments and consulates of the
countries in which it operates in order to ensure that it fully
understands and correctly interprets the immigration regulations, the
statement said.

Michael W Gildea, executive director of the Department of Professional
Employees, AFL-CIO, US's largest labour federation, addressing the
House International Relations

Committee on Wednesday, accused Indian IT firms such as TCS, Infosys
and Wipro of "abusing" the L-1 visa programme to bring in cheap
manpower to take over American jobs.