Apple cuts ties with L&T Infotech following alleged immigration procedure violation

L&T Infotech (LTI) is being questioned by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for documentary discrepancy and procedural lapse related to one of its key customers – Apple. The development is said to have deeply soured the relationship between LTI and the iPhone maker.

LTI is alleged to have issued letters of invitation to some of its employees to work onsite on the Apple account, when the USCIS procedure required that the letters be issued by Apple.

When the USCIS cross-referenced these letters with Apple, the latter is said to have denied any knowledge of such letters being issued.

Following this, Apple has ramped down its IT outsourcing work with LTI, sources said. The sources also told TOI that Apple plans to transition all LTI work to other service providers and stop working with LTI. LTI CEO Sanjay Jalona is said to have travelled to Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino to address the concerns. But that did not help.

Around 400 LTI employees work on the Apple account, providing application development and maintenance and testing services. Apple’s annual contract value with LTI is estimated to be around $25 million.

TOI sent multiple messages to LTI on the matter, but did not receive a response. Apple too did not comment.

The USCIS responded, but did not specifically address the LTI issue. Philip Smith, public affairs officer – Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico in the USCIS, said, “Due to the nature of our anti-fraud investigations, USCIS cannot provide additional details on the techniques and processes for how we handle specific tips.”

Smith told TOI that pursuant to the April 18, 2017, Buy American and Hire American executive order, Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS) enhanced its ability to identify, investigate, and deter fraud and misuse in the employment-based non-immigrant visa classifications in order to protect American workers.

Smith said USCIS created and implemented the Targeted Site Visit and Verification Program (TSVVP) in 2017 as part of its efforts to enhance the integrity of the immigration benefit process. “This targeted approach focuses on – H-1B dependent employers (those who have a high ratio of H-1B workers as compared to US workers, as defined by statute); cases where USCIS cannot validate the employer’s basic business information through commercially available data; and employers petitioning for H-1B workers who work off-site at another company or organisation’s location,” he said.

Other Indian IT services companies have previously been found to have violated immigration procedures. Five years ago, Infosys paid a $34 million fine for immigration-related violations.

Phil Fersht, CEO of IT consulting firm HfS Research, said after the issues experienced with Infosys and others in the recent past, any scent of immigration “short-cutting” could cost LTI dearly. “The current climate for immigration intolerance in the US has never been more sensitive than it is right now. The timing for another potential Indian immigration scandal couldn’t be worse,” he said.