WASHINGTON: In a development that is bound to trigger a larger debate on the highly skilled H1B visas, an internal report of the US immigration services has found forged documents and fake degrees, and even "shell" companies giving addresses of fake locations to obtain the permit.

The report by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has been released by Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a known critic and skeptic of the H1B and L Visa programmes, who along with Democratic Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has been pushing for legislation to fine tune the issuance and oversight of the particular visa programmes.

Employers didn't pay prevailing wages in some cases and benched employees when there wasn't work, while some employees worked at jobs that differed from what the application claimed they would be doing.

In a case, an H-1B holder was found "working in a laundromat doing laundry and maintaining washing machines," the report has said according to what has been published in Computerworld. "This report validates the major flaws in the H-1B visa programme that we have been talking about.

It's unacceptable that these fraudulent activities are slipping through the cracks when there is so much legitimate demand for H-1B visas. "Until we make a conscious effort to close the loopholes, we're going to see continued abuse where people coming to this country on H-1B visas are working at laundromats. This report is proof that reform must come sooner rather than later.

The programme ought to operate the way Congress intended so qualified high-tech American workers aren't left behind," Senator Grassley said in a statement.

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