L&T Technology Services has agreed to pay $9,928,000 to resolve claims of underpaid visa fees owed to the US government, according to a release from the US Attorney’s Office, District of South Carolina.
As per the statement, L&T Tech (LTTS) underpaid visa fees by acquiring inexpensive B-1 visas instead of the costlier H-1B visas for its foreign personnel, between 2014 and 2019, in alleged violation of the False Claims Act.
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An LTTS spokesperson said: “We have been cooperating with the US government on this matter for over three years and are pleased to have reached a resolution. There is no impact on our financials due to the settlement. As per accounting principles, we have provided for this amount over the past quarters and therefore the quarterly and annual financials, which will be released later this month, will not be impacted.”
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B-1 visas generally do not permit visa holders to perform paid labour while they are in the US. During the time period in question, the fee for B-1 visas was about $200-$300, and there was no limit on the number of B-1 visas that could be issued, the release said.
Though H-1B visas permit foreign nationals to perform paid labour while in the US, the visa fee for such work visas was higher than B-1 visas, between approximately $4,000 to $6,000, said the statement.