US lawmaker alleges Indian companies have “gamed” the H1-B visa system; says his bill will fix it

The ongoing debate over the H1-B visa system got intense after a US lawmaker alleged the Indian companies “gamed” the entire process.

Congressman Darrell Issa, who introduced the bill to increase in salary of H1-B professionals, said the existing system was flawed and Indian companies took advantage of it.

"You can't have 75 per cent of a programme going to an Indian-owner, Indian operated, Indian employee visas and not say that this is distortion," Issa said, adding it's common sense to hire the best and not the other way around.

"Today 75 per cent of all H-1Bs are coming in about USD 60-65,000, which is pretty absurd considering these are high-skilled visas... If they were told to write USD 100,000 and you will get your H-1B, they will write that check," he said.

Issa has called for removing the country-based caps, adding increasing the salary would raise the quality of people coming to the US.

"An auction system is not a bad way to go," he said.

"A graduate with a STEM degree from a US university is not going to take a job with USD 60,000 salary. And that's the reality," said the Congressman.