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06 October 2010
Californian businessman charged with US Visa application fraud
A Californian businessman appeared in federal court yesterday, charged with 11 counts of US Visa fraud.
The indictment filed September 30, 2010, alleges that Srinivasa Chennupati made false statements on the US Visa applications for 11 applicants, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1546(a).
It is believed, Chennupati submitted US immigration forms and supporting documentation to the government purporting to have job offers for 11 non-immigrant high-technology workers, but in fact he had no jobs for these workers.
The H-1B high-technology worker visa program has a number of requirements including that an American employer certifies it has jobs that cannot be filled by Americans.
Chennupati was released on a $25,000 bond until his next scheduled court appearance on October 19 before the Honorable Donna M. Ryu.
The maximum statutory penalty for US Visa Fraud is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The case is the result of an investigation led by the Diplomatic Security Service's representative to the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force (DBFTF) overseen by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The American Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their ESTA application to the US Embassy.
