Henrietta man sentenced for selling illegal visas to enter United States
A Henrietta man convicted of selling illegal visas for specialized workers to enter the United States was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Rochester.
Anjaneyulu Katam, 46, who was convicted of visa fraud, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison and fined $5,000 by Chief U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr.
Between 2011 and 2017, Katam ran businesses where he "falsified immigration documents for Indian nationals to enter the U.S. and work in industries involving computer programming," Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Rossi said in a release.
Katam "manipulated" the H-1B visa program, Rossi said. The visa allows non-Americans to come into the country for specialized jobs often in high-tech industries.
Katam falsified visa applications, work experience documents, and work contracts. Those documents were then submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of State to obtain the visas.
Authorities said Katam did the following:
- Katam in 2011 submitted an application for an individual from India, claiming that he would work for a company based in New Hyde, New York. The company itself had previously engaged in visa fraud, and the petition, for which his company was paid $3,500, and the visa was not granted.
- Katam provided falsified documentation alleging that his sister-in-law would have a job in the United States if granted an H-1B visa.
- Katam forged documents from companies falsely stating that they planned to utilize the services of some of the individuals whom Katam assisted with H-1B visas.
- Some of the H-1B "beneficiaries" did find work in the United States, though not where it was fraudulently claimed they would be employed.
Federal authorities identified assets, including strip malls and bank accounts, which Katam acquired using the money he made from the visa fraud. Katam will forfeit nearly $1.1 million to the government.