The state of Texas has opened a sweeping investigation into allegations of abuse of the H-1B visa system, with nearly 30 companies accused of running “ghost offices” to secure foreign workers.Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Thursday that his office has issued civil investigative requests to several North Texas-based companies on suspicion of abuse of the visa program.According to the Attorney General’s Office, the companies are believed to have engaged in fraudulent practices designed to exploit the H-1B system. These include Tekpro IT LLC, Fame PBX LLC, 1st Ranking Technologies LLC, Qubitz Tech Systems LLC, Blooming Clouds LLC, Virat Solutions, Inc., Oak Technologies Inc, Techpath Inc, and Techquency LLC.“Attorney General Ken Paxton has issued Civil Investigation Orders (CIDs) to approximately 30 North Texas businesses as part of an ongoing investigation into fraud and abuse of the H-1B visa program,” the official statement read.Investigators say some companies may have created so-called “ghost offices,” which exist only on paper. These offices allegedly give the appearance of active business operations, allowing companies to sponsor foreign workers under false pretenses.
“Reports indicate that many of these entities operated so-called ‘ghost offices’ as a scheme in which companies falsely represented active operations in order to sponsor foreign workers,” the statement said.
As part of the investigation, the companies were asked to hand over detailed records. These include employee lists, descriptions of services or products, financial documents, and internal communications related to their operations.Paxton also credited right-wing social media influencer Sarah Gonzalez for highlighting the issue in her reports, videos and documentaries covering the alleged fraud. “I want to thank @SaraGonzalesTX for her efforts in exposing H-1B fraud throughout the state,” he said.“I will not allow the H-1B program to be abused by bad actors who seek to use it as a loophole to allow foreign nationals to invade Texas. My office will continue to work to expose and end fraud in the H-1B program,” he said.The latest action builds on a broader investigation first announced on January 28, targeting abuse of the visa system throughout Texas. The goal is to ensure that the program operates within the law and benefits American workers as intended.This campaign comes on the heels of a recent case in California that demonstrated similar concerns. In April, two Indian-origin men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit H-1B visa fraud by submitting applications for jobs that did not exist.Sampath Rajidi and Sridhar Madha were accused of submitting fraudulent petitions between June 2020 and January 2023. Once approved, the visas were passed on to unrelated clients. Rajidi ran visa services companies, while Mada used his position as chief information officer at the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources to lend credibility to the applications.
Both men intentionally provided false information to USCIS, resulting in them receiving an unfair advantage and reducing the number of visas available to legitimate applicants.“They provided false information knowing that this information was material to USCIS’ decisions in granting visas. As a result of their conspiracy, Raggedy and Mada gained an unfair advantage over other companies and depleted the pool of H-1B visas available to competing companies,” the filler said.
