Indian techie sues US employer over forced labour, caste bias; calls H-1B visa exploitation a ‘Squid Game’

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An Indian software engineer working in the United States has filed a lawsuit against his employer, accusing the company of trapping him in a cycle of forced labour, wage theft, and caste-based discrimination. The case, reported by Breitbart News, names Siri Software Solutions, LLC (SiriSoft) and its Indian-origin CEO Pavan Tata as defendants.

The plaintiff, Amrutesh Vallabhaneni, alleges that the firm exploited his dependency on the H-1B visa system by threatening him with deportation and manipulating promises of Green Card sponsorship to keep him under control.

“For the Indian workers, this is a Squid Game where the ultimate goal is to stay in America,” Jay Palmer, a labour trafficking expert who helped prepare Vallabhaneni’s lawsuit, told Breitbart News. “It’s a very, very exploitative culture. Indian CEOs import home-country caste-discrimination politics into US workplaces,” he added.

From student debt to visa abuse

Vallabhaneni arrived in the US in 2015 on an F-1 student visa after taking loans to fund his education. After graduation, he initially worked with a small New Jersey firm called E-Content before joining SiriSoft in 2018, which had promised to sponsor his H-1B visa and later his Green Card.

According to the lawsuit, SiriSoft broke multiple US labour laws by failing to pay Vallabhaneni the federally required prevailing wage. The company allegedly forced him to cover his own salary for six months and threatened to withdraw his visa if he refused to comply.

“Despite these blatant violations, Vallabhaneni was not free to leave SiriSoft because SiriSoft threatened to withdraw his H-1B if he did not comply with their unlawful requests,” the lawsuit stated.

Green Card used as leverage

The company’s alleged exploitation went further when it used his Green Card process as a tool of coercion. “To exert further power over Vallabhaneni, SiriSoft then promised to file an immigrant (green card) visa for Mr Vallabhaneni, which would allow him to work in the United States on an H-1B indefinitely,” the lawsuit read.

“SiriSoft promised it would pursue an immigrant visa for him, but it repeatedly threatened to forgo the process or stop the process altogether unless Vallabhaneni accepted SiriSoft’s unlawful payment demands,” the document added.

The complaint says that SiriSoft’s business model effectively depended on labour trafficking and exploitation. “These reprehensible actions constitute forced labor and labor trafficking (via the H-1B visa programme). Plaintiff demands a jury trial to recover all damages and reasonable attorney’s fees,” the filing stated.

Financial and emotional toll

Vallabhaneni claims that his earnings were so inconsistent that he could not afford rent or basic medical care. The lapse in health insurance left him and his wife without treatment, even when he suffered a severe leg injury. “Forced labor, labor trafficking, and withholding visa documents are crimes,” the lawsuit said, underscoring the company’s alleged violation of US federal laws.

Siri Software Solutions has not yet responded to Breitbart News regarding the allegations. The lawsuit seeks full compensation, damages, and attorney’s fees.

If proven true, the case would spotlight the exploitation of Indian tech workers in the US visa system, a growing concern among labour activists who say that H-1B visas, meant to promote skilled migration, are increasingly being used to trap employees in coercive and abusive contracts.