Austin, Texas: Kishore Dattapuram, 55, the owner of Nanosemantics Inc., a technology staffing firm based in San Jose, has admitted to submitting fraudulent H-1B visa applications for his company. He was charged along with two co-defendants: Kumar Aswapathi, 55, from Austin, Texas, and Santosh Giri, 48, from San Jose.
Dattapuram, an Indian American, pleaded guilty to charges of visa fraud and conspiracy related to the H-1B visa program. His company, Nanosemantics Inc., which he co-owns with Aswapathi, provided skilled foreign workers to technology companies in the Bay Area. To do this, they regularly filed H-1B petitions, which allow foreign workers to temporarily work in the U.S.
However, court documents revealed that the defendants falsely claimed to have available job positions at end-client companies for the foreign workers. In truth, these jobs did not exist.
In court, Dattapuram admitted to paying companies to pose as end-client employers for the visa applications, even though these companies had no intention of hiring the workers. This allowed Nanosemantics to obtain H-1B visas in advance of securing actual employment, giving the firm an edge over competitors. Dattapuram explained that the purpose was to have workers available and ready to be placed in jobs when opportunities arose.
The three defendants were initially charged in February 2019 with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and multiple counts of substantive visa fraud. Aswapathi pleaded guilty to all charges in 2020, while Giri pleaded guilty on October 28, 2024.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). HSI Special Agent in Charge Tatum King emphasized that this case highlights the federal agencies' commitment to preserving the integrity of the H-1B visa program.
Dattapuram and Giri are scheduled to be sentenced on February 24, 2025, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Davila, while Aswapathi's sentencing status hearing is set for November 25, 2024. Each count of visa fraud carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, while the conspiracy charge carries a maximum sentence of five years and an additional fine of $250,000.
