A 39-year-old Indian-American woman attorney pleaded guilty on Tuesday to visa fraud charges related to students and H-1B visas, federal prosecutors said.
A 39-year-old Indian-American woman attorney pleaded guilty on Tuesday to visa fraud charges related to students and H-1B visas, federal prosecutors said.
Sunila Dutt of Virginia pleaded guilty before US district judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court to an information charging her with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and obstruct justice.
Dutt, an immigration attorney for two information technology companies — SCM Data Inc and MMC Systems Inc — admitted that she submitted phony documents and obstructed a federal investigation as part of a scheme that fraudulently obtained foreign worker visas, US attorney Paul J Fishman announced.
Dutt admitted that she submitted, or caused to be submitted, one or more filings to USCIS falsely representing the companies would employ foreign workers for in-house positions when no such positions existed.
Dutt and other conspirators recruited foreign workers with purported IT expertise who sought work in the United States.
Dutt faces a maximum potential penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for February 6, 2017.
