Infosys CEO and managing director Salil Parekh on Wednesday rejected claims circulating on social media that an employee of the IT services major was detained or deported by US immigration authorities. Parekh called the reports incorrect and misleading.
Parekh’s clarification came amid a viral post on X that alleged an on-site Infosys employee in the United States had been picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and given two hours to decide whether to return to India. Addressing the issue during Infosys’ third-quarter earnings conference call, Parekh said no such incident had taken place.
“No Infosys employee has been apprehended by any US authority. A few months ago, one of our employees was denied entry into the US and was sent back to India,” Parekh set the record straight.
What triggered the controversy
A post shared on January 13 by an X user ‘Chetan Anantharamu’ claimed that a Mysuru-based Infosys employee working on a US project was detained by ICE agents and given an ultimatum to either face jail or be deported.
According to the post, the employee chose to return to India and was escorted by authorities to ensure he boarded a flight via Frankfurt. It further alleged that public announcements were made on the flight instructing that the employee should not be allowed to escape during transit and that similar announcements were repeated on the onward flight to Bengaluru.
The post also claimed that Infosys lawyers were present at the Bengaluru airport to receive the employee and that the company was planning legal action against ICE officials. Infosys, however, has not substantiated any of these claims and Parekh’s statement effectively dismissed the narrative.
The clarification comes at a time when Infosys reported a strong performance in the October–December quarter, with revenue rising 8.9% year-on-year to Rs 45,479 crore.
Business update and visa challenges
Indian IT companies, including Infosys, continue to face challenges due to tightening US immigration norms. Recent changes to the H-1B visa regime, including higher application fees, enhanced social media scrutiny and inconsistent processing timelines. These changes have complicated cross-border staffing and project delivery for the sector.