A retired Indian-American diplomat has publicly alleged that the United States’ H-1B work visa program long considered a backbone of America’s tech-talent pipeline is rife with systemic abuse, particularly among applicants from India.
Mahvash Siddiqui, who served at the U.S. Consulate in Chennai between 2005 and 2007, said in a recent podcast interview that 80 to 90 percent of H-1B visas issued to Indian nationals were fraudulent, obtained with forged documents, questionable degrees, or by applicants who did not meet the high-skilled standards mandated for the visa.
Speaking in her personal capacity, Siddiqui described an internal culture in which consular officers “knew the fraud was massive” yet were discouraged from taking action. Her account adds a rare insider perspective to one of the most politically sensitive issues in U.S. immigration: the pipeline through which more than 70 percent of all H-1B visas were granted to Indian nationals in 2024.
Claims of Fake Degrees, Proxy Applicants, and Bribery Networks
From her post in Chennai—a consulate that adjudicates among the largest volumes of H-1B and H-4 visa applications in the world—Siddiqui said she processed more than 51,000 non-immigrant visas during her two-year tenure.
She alleged that fraud took multiple forms: forged academic credentials, proxy interviewees posing as real applicants, and applicants coached by recruitment agents on how to bypass scrutiny. She singled out Hyderabad as the “most concerning” region among the four states handled by the consulate: Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu.
“As an Indian-American, I hate to say this, but fraud and bribery are normalized in India,” Siddiqui said during the interview. She claimed that some applicants deliberately avoided attending interviews with American officers, choosing instead to appear only before Indian staff members.
She also recounted instances where Indian managers allegedly sold jobs to Indian candidates, effectively turning the H-1B recruitment process into an illicit marketplace.
A Dissent Cable and a Clash With Washington
Perhaps the most explosive claim made by Siddiqui concerns what she describes as a suppressed internal warning. Early in her tenure, she said, consular officers in Chennai drafted a dissent cable addressed to the U.S. Secretary of State, documenting what they believed to be systematic visa fraud.
According to her account, the cable detailed widespread issues: fraudulent applications, fabricated employment records, and a network of intermediaries who guaranteed visa approvals for a fee.
But when the officers attempted to impose stricter vetting standards, Siddiqui says their efforts were shut down.
“Our adjudication was overturned,” she said. “Due to political pressure from the top, our anti-fraud drive was called a ‘rogue operation.’”
She also alleged that members of Congress and other political figures pushed back against the fraud investigations, claiming that officials were pressured not to “upset Indian politicians” or disrupt diplomatic ties with New Delhi—particularly as immigration became entangled with broader trade and strategic interests.
The Broader Debate: Talent Pipeline or Vulnerable System?
Siddiqui’s claims arrive at a moment of intensifying political debate around America’s tech-talent ecosystem. Supporters of the H-1B program argue that U.S. companies face chronic shortages in STEM fields and must rely on foreign workers—particularly from India—to remain competitive.
Siddiqui rejects that premise entirely, saying that the belief in a STEM-talent shortage is “false” and that the visa system has been exploited by recruitment firms that profit from low-wage placements.
Her remarks have quickly resonated with critics of the program, including right-wing commentators who frequently target H-1B and F-1 student visas as evidence of lax immigration enforcement.
But experts caution that individual claims of fraud—while not unprecedented—must be weighed against the scale and complexity of a program that processed 220,000 H-1B visas and 140,000 H-4 visas in 2024 alone. The State Department has not responded publicly to Siddiqui’s account, and no independent review has yet been launched.
Still, Siddiqui’s allegations—if corroborated—could reopen long-running debates about labor dynamics, national security, and the integrity of America’s high-skilled visa system. For now, her narrative stands as a deeply uncomfortable spotlight on one of the most consequential gateways between the U.S. economy and India’s booming tech workforce.
