A former U.S. consular officer is calling for a sweeping crackdown on H-1B visa fraud, arguing that oversight failures, document fraud, and loopholes across related visa categories have undermined the program’s integrity.
Mahvash Siddiqui, a former consular officer who adjudicated non-immigrant visas in India in the mid-2000s, said she is speaking only in a personal capacity “as a concerned American citizen” and told The Dallas Express she believes fraud risks in the H-1B system stem from structural incentives, weak oversight, and what she described as abuse by some outsourcing firms and “body shops.”
Siddiqui’s comments come as scrutiny over high-skilled immigration has intensified amid competing proposals in Washington. She pointed to what she called “industrial-scale” fraud concerns and proposed raising the H-1B standard to positions requiring PhD-level qualifications, rather than the bachelor’s-degree threshold typically associated with the visa category.
“The Bottom Line: This is a labor market distortion allowed by both federal and state-level inaction,” Siddiqui said. “We need a ‘U.S. Citizen First’ mandate that treats guest workers as a rare exception, not a preferential first choice.”
The H-1B visa is a “non-immigrant” visa category that allows American employers to temporarily hire aliens with at least a bachelor’s degree to perform mostly white-collar work in the U.S.
Despite a popular myth to the contrary, federal statute does not require U.S. employers to seek out an American worker in good faith before applying to hire H-1B workers, unless the company is “H-1B dependent,” meaning that at least 32% of its workforce is H-1 B workers, although varying conditions apply, according to a Department of Labor fact sheet.
Siddiqui’s comments also come against the broader backdrop of documented concerns about fraud.
A 2008 federal compliance assessment by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services found that about 13% of reviewed H-1B petitions contained fraudulent material and another 7% had technical violations, findings that have continued to surface in debates over program oversight.
She also argued that states have a role, despite H-1B being federally governed, including through contractor oversight, state procurement rules, and E-Verify mandates.
Her comments intersect with ongoing legislative activity.
The End H-1B Visa Abuse Act, introduced by Representative Eli Crane of Arizona, includes a proposed pause on new visas and other restrictions that appear to echo some of her concerns, DX reported.
The debate carries added political interest given that Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas and Democrat Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia currently serve as co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, a bipartisan group founded in 2004 by Cornyn and then-Senator and Democrat Hillary Clinton of New York. The caucus promotes U.S.-India cooperation on security, trade, science, and other strategic interests, even as questions surrounding employment visas sometimes generate tension within broader bilateral debates. Cornyn is currently in a Senate primary runoff against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Siddiqui also alleged that document verification in parts of India posed challenges during her consular service, saying some credentials could not be assumed reliable without extensive vetting. She described concerns centered on specific fraud networks rather than the Indian community as a whole and said her criticism was directed at abuses in the system, not at India as a country.
In a separate interview, she indicated that her denial rate as a consular officer was between 70% and 80%.
🔥🚨BREAKING: US Consulate Officer in India Mahvash Siddiqui has revealed details about an entire industry in India dedicated to creating fraudulent H-1B visas for entry into America.
She specifically claims that there are entire areas in India where stores focus solely on… pic.twitter.com/EEfv2nYHsa
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) April 8, 2026
Her remarks to The Dallas Express echo concerns raised in prior reporting. Former Disney IT worker Leo Perrero recently told The Dallas Express he was forced to help train workers brought in through outsourcing arrangements before losing his job in a widely publicized episode involving H-1B replacements.
Separately, The Dallas Express reported in March on a federal indictment in North Texas alleging a years-long immigration fraud conspiracy involving H-1B visas and employment-based green cards. Prosecutors alleged fraudulent filings were used to secure immigration benefits; defendants in the case are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Siddiqui also tied her concerns to what she sees as larger political and economic pressures surrounding the visa system. That includes ongoing debate over a “powerful IT lobby” reliant on H-1B workers and diaspora advocacy groups.
The Dallas Express previously reported that the Indian American Impact PAC was financially supported by wealthy tech titans, and the office holders it supported often introduced bills aimed at expanding the H-1B visa program.
Supporters of the H-1B program, however, have argued that it remains essential for addressing specialized labor needs and sustaining innovation.
An American Immigration Council factsheet states that the H-1B visa exists to fill “employment gaps in many STEM occupations, and expand job opportunities for all.”
Former Republican Presidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy previously posted on X that H-1B workers supplement deficiencies among American workers due to an alleged culture of “mediocrity.”
The program remains significant in scale.
According to 2023 USCIS data, about 72% of H-1B visas were awarded to Indian nationals, with about 12% going to Chinese nationals.
Videos of Siddiqui have gone viral across numerous social media platforms, eliciting strong reactions from all sides.
“I must address the blatant Islamophobia I have encountered for raising these alarms… It is not ‘hateful’ to demand that American computer science graduates—from all backgrounds—be prioritized over foreign guest workers who, according to The Economic Times, often lack the very skills they claim to possess,” Siddiqui told DX.
Siddiqui concludes that this issue is about protecting “the American dream.”
