Indian outsourcing giant Infosys said Wednesday it would pay $34 million to the US government to settle an investigation into alleged visa fraud by the company. The group has been probed by the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department over accusations it put workers on short-term business visitor visas, which are much easier and cheaper to obtain than the correct work visas.
This would mean Infosys could undercut competitors in bids for programming, accounting and other work performed for clients, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. Infosys said the settlement "removed the uncertainty of prolonged litigation" but it denied any claims of "systemic visa fraud, misuse of visas for competitive advantage, or immigration abuse". "Those claims are untrue and are assertions that remain unproven," it said in a statement.