Mu Sigma to settle US visa case out of court for $2.5 mn

PUNE: Analytics firm Mu Sigma has agreed to pay $2.5 million in an out-of-court settlement in a visa fraud dispute, according to information available on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement website. The company was accused of circumventing US visa regulations by bringing in employees on a B1 visitor visa and misrepresenting the nature of their intended business.

An top executive of Bengaluru-based Mu Sigma told ET that the company had contested all the charges but settled out of court as the legal fee would have been higher than the settlement charges.

“We want to focus on building the company and this was a distraction. This is a situation all IT firms operating in the US have encountered,” said the top executive, requesting not to be named.


The investigation began in 2013 when a Mu Sigma employee alleged that company managers were circumventing US government H-1B visa regulations by actively and unlawfully employing B1 visitor visa holders under contract within the US.

As per a note on the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, the company also paid these employees in India at India-based wages which were considerably lower than US wages.