desin consultants proxy interviews
Student Stories

Desi Consulting Companies and Their Dirty Business

What do you think about Consultancies here in the U.S.,  who help you get a job and get placed as contractors at client sites?

I have written about this in the past. Being a consultant is not bad; It’s a huge industry.

Vinit wrote to me to share his experience (rant) in order to create awareness about how this so-called “Desi consultancies” Work.


 

This is my second semester in a very prestigious U.S. university, and the thing that I have found highly disturbing for the past couple of months is the increasing interference of consultancies (Desi Consultants) with jobs in the computer science field.

I can personally vouch for the fact that, in Chicago alone, more than 70 percent of the job market has been captured by these people, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a good job.

Recently a friend of mine got a confirmation call from a very good company in the U.S., but after having converted it, the people over there backed out, releasing a statement that they could not be involved in the ‘deal’.

To his shock, he found out that the job offer was for an Indian IT giant which had outsourced its work for the American company. The horror extended when, after declining the offer, people from consultancies started calling him, asking for the reasons why he did not want to join. When he declined to answer them, they started abusing him for wasting their time.

 

Proxy Interviews

This is just one scenario, and there are numerous others wherein the candidate who, having zero experience in computers (from chemistry/mechanical field), beefs up his resume and gets a position of Java Lead because someone else converted the job for him. This is known as a proxy interview.

There are 4 types of consultancies for you: TYPE A,B,C, and D.

A and B have their own small IT service firms, (along with staffing solutions), whereas the C and D are the ones that will provide you with initial “free” housing and lodging in cities like New York and California (for God’s sake), and who will do the proxy for you.

This is becoming increasingly frustrating because one of the major reasons why I left India was for better opportunities, and currently it is going down the drain. If the scenario persists, is going to be horrible in the future.

I understand that people from India come here for various reason, and that one of the short-term goals is getting your investment recovered. But at what cost?

We literally become slaves for them. They pay you a 30% salary after the extraneous taxes they charge us, or else you don’t get jobs in Texas. It’s not even what everybody is doing.

A certain part of the country which is notorious for issuing out fake documents have somehow formed a community in this country, and they keep pushing substandard talent ahead of deserving candidates.

I have seen enough around me to suggest that people in some regions work part time illegally, and there are schools in Illinois where you have to attend 22 classes in 2 years to get Masters in CS. I mean, that is unbelievable!!! What’s more, you can apply for a CPT from the day you start attending your college.

It’s a no-brainer that the recruiters here don’t have any clue about the situation and are willingly taking part in the sham. This is the thing that befuddles me. This nation was somehow different from India because of its morals and values, and I for one am finding it increasingly frustrating. Enough of the “Chalta Hai” attitude.

I would like you to post my story/rant on your blog, and suggest some platforms to broadcast my views. I am thinking of somehow getting this thing out there to DHS and USCIS if things don’t start to change.


Desi Consultants and Ethics

I wouldn’t be surprised if anyone who is planning to apply for jobs via consulting companies is not already aware of all these issues. If you haven’t heard about what to expect, then you are going to be in for a shock.

I have had conversations with students who think that applying for jobs via consultants is the “only” way to find a job.

Why? Their lack of exposure.

When students around you are all doing the same thing, then you are left with an uphill battle.

“Job Search” is a skill. You have to learn that skill, just like any other skill ( driving, swimming, etc).

Take-Aways from this Article:

  • Beware of Consultants
  • Know what you are getting yourself into
  • Be ready to give away “ethical” behaviour.
  • Not all consultants can be categorized into being unethical. You guys know exactly who and what types of consultants I’m talking about.
  • I have referred readers from the blog to consultants. But I warn them of what to expect;  all I’m doing is referring. You are on your own after I connect you.
  • Consultants are not going away.  Neither will their practices, unless UCSIS finds ways to crack down on them.
  • Educate yourself and don’t be shocked when you have to make difficult decisions ( fake resume to proxy interviews/paying for H1B Visa process).

DEsin consultants are not going away. It’s really for USCIs to track them down for all their practices. There are good companies, but it’s really hard to find them. So, if you are going to join one, be warned that you may have to give-up your Ethics 101.

What’s Your Story?

Have you experienced any of this or witnessed anything around you? Tell use about your story.

 

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56 Comments

  1. Are there any genuine consultancies that do not fake and apply for entry level jobs etc? I am in a desperate need of such consultancies right now.

  2. All these is very true . I came to the US on a spousal GC 3 years ago. A that time I was finishing up my Ph.D from a very good university in Ireland. I started a recruiting firm with a friend from India. Any requirement we post we get hundreds of resumes with only 0nly 1 or 2 legit ones in the applications. WE had a hard time finding a good / qulaified candidate and was having a really hard time to stay afloat. We had to wind up the business eventually because of this flooding of fake resumes. On the other hand after my PhD was done, I am not even able to land on a interview when I show my real experience on my resume as i am competing with fakes who have 5 + years of experience

    1. So guys tell me something, this is the situation of lock down along with layoff. No money, no job, u can’t even go outside and do something for your living. But zero exp people is making 100000$/annum. By visiting the consultancies and making a good use of it, with the help of proxy interviews, even though they are terminated, they have enough money to survive long. We kept these consultancies for our desi people who can’t survive in USA. Please don’t judge a book by it’s cover.

  3. Very good article. Are there any genuine consultancies which does not fake your resume. I am seriously looking for training and don’t want to fake my resume. Please suggest if you know any.

  4. I always heard abt this one person who was charging $300 to $500 per interview. This was for women only and mostly for Business objects related interviews.

  5. I’m a recent MBA graduate (may’17). I’ve been looking for full time jobs and even got responses from a few companies. But Literally none of them were willing to sponsor H1. Trump effect? 99% of non-IT entry level employees do not get sponsorship. Also, the pay is extremely low. Since I’m not a STEM student, I basically have just 1 chance for H1b. Recently a few desi consultancies contacted me. I was not sure about them earlier but now I’m at a point where I think it will be quite advantageous for me if I just join one. At least H1b sponsorship is assured and the kind of pay package I’ll receive would be far better than what I’ll get on my own.
    Your negative rant about these unethical consultancies is totally legit and justified. Not denying that. BUT it is sooo damn difficult for non-STEM Non-IT students in the US! And since I only have one chance to apply for H1b.. I don’t know what are the odds of it getting picked. So I know for sure that I at least have one year to work in the US. Why not make use of consultancies and earn as much as I can?

    1. What’s happens to personal ethics? Why is it ok to fake resume to find a job? You signedup for this when you deduced to come to USA.

  6. Yes things need to be changed, slowly but for sure. It is affecting both, the students and their value. I wish that there were better ways to improve living. 9-10 people living in 2 bedroom, literally reminded me of movie Slumdog millionaire.

  7. Where does this lack of ethics come from?
    It gives Indians a bad stereotype. Chinese and Blacks are already prejudiced against, and now you are creating an increasingly prejudiced future for all Indians.

  8. Its amazing to see how people are using all kinds of excuses and even suggesting that you take this article down, just so that they can fake their resume to get a job and have part or whole of their work done by friends or offshore support.

    With the betasoft fake resume expose on nbc bay area news, I thought that other media channels and government authorities would at least start creating trouble for these desi consulting frauds. Looks like nothing has happened. Desi consulting is still alive and going strong, stealing the opportunity for jobs and h1b visas.

    Its easy to praise desi consulting when it serves your interests. What will happen when you get real experience after many years of desi consulting and have to compete with junior desi consulting contractors ? It will be their fake experience vs your real, ill-gotten experience. Tell us how you feel about desi consulting then.

  9. Hi
    I know consultancies are bad but wanted to ask you a question
    People who didn’t find jobs are blaming consultancies for not getting a job it’s stupid because the consultancy guys applies with 7 years resume and the positions they apply will be of senior or lead position which I assume
    The original so called genuine guys won’t apply at all they apply for entry level positions so how they are hindering your chance of getting a job?
    My case is Iam a fresher at the time of my graduation and no company took me joined a consultancy did one project with a reputed client and after that I had 3 full time offers based on my experience
    Yes I agree they are bad in what they are doing but you people can’t blame them for you not getting jobs

  10. Hello everyone ,

    I need each and everyone’s help , suggestion for my problem ..
    1) I graduated In may 2016 from masters program and I’m in opt status joined with consultancy under cpt and continued till aug with the same consultancy where as from sept 1st got a job from different consultancy worked for exactly 1 month in Usa company which is client for desi consultancy .. though company and tier 1 vendor paid to my employer but my employer is not paying me the whole amount .. I moved from consultancy because I got full time job with some other company . To say he should not even take any commission. But he is peneding with 8k usd to give me .

  11. Hi there

    I’m an Australian, looking fur a reliable consultant who deals with E3 visa.
    Could you please let me know in that?

    Many thanks
    Sam

  12. Hello, I really do not understand why you are discussing the topic in such detail and wasting your time, rather than that go and do job search and find a job.

    Please do not write such articles and create more problems than we already have.

    I agree with your concerns about more consultancies opening up and having troubles and troubling consultants. You should do research in finding a good one. I agree At-least student should do their masters correctly.

    No one who is coming to US wants to join a consultancy and share their hard earned money with some consulting company. But Not all people who come to US are smart like you who wrote the blog so than they can get a job in company like Apple , Google, some big shot companies( I assume you are smart and working for something really big)
    Students do not have a choice they either get full time and find a company who can sponser or go back to india. you need to report in university in 90 days ( How many people will be smart enough to get job in first 90 days of their opt start date. They end up joining the consultancy and it is a win -win situation it is a business and students get benefited and also the employer with some profit ( not 30 % – its a business there is an expense – do research )

    Please do not just hate consultancies that they do everything wrong. There are millions of people who made their life and got GC and fulfilled their dreams through them.

    Imagine a situation a student got job a and company sponsored h1b and right after the h1b start date, there are budget issues and they laid off him and he has to find a job in 2 weeks . Is it practically possible ? do he need to go back to india in this situation and spoil all his dreams, Only consultancies can help him in this case.

    I know hundreds of people who have gone through this .

    With common sense any thing in this world has pros and cons and same thing with consultancies and full time jobs. Do not write these blogs and mess up already messed up Industry by having officials looks at this.

    One more thing about resumes and all what you wrote, This is not only in US, this is India too where people add up experience .

    It is easy to join a company as fresher and go to training and do the same thing what you are doing every day for years.
    It requires a serious talent to prove a few years of experience as a fresher when you go through consultancies ( people here are much smarter than you really think)

    Also lot of people who talk stupid about consultancies and has full time jobs and all , when they want their spouses to work they will start loving and following consultancies.

    I went through all the phases going to a good school in US with good GPA and try full time jobs for an year and give interviews and no one is willing to sponsor and then join consultancy and make up a good career and now working full time doing what i always wanted to do.

    you should plan and work it out for you. Does not matter if it is consulting or working full time.

    I hope some agrees the truth what I told.

    1. Hi Lucky,
      I totally agree with your opinion and comments. I am a Masters student with non-technical background. Could you please tell me how to find a consultancy firm? I appreciate your help in advance !
      Thanks!

      1. IRONY! Title of this post is Consulting company and their dirty Business. And yet, you are asking for a consultant!

    2. @Lucky – Yes, lots of people got jobs through desi consultants and eventually got their GC somehow. That is good for them, but not for the genuinely experienced people who had to compete with the fake experience of desi consultants and not for the guys who had to refactor the buggy & sloppy code created by desi consultants. Its unfair when truly skilled, intelligent and deserving people lose out on the H1B because some desi consultant got lucky in the lottery. The problem has become much worse because some of these desi consultants have entered management and have started employing other desi consultants who get their work done by offshore resources aka proxy (the ones who fake phone and video interviews and sometimes provide on the job support).

      Other that H1B frauds, Indians are losing respect in the US due to desi consulting. For every “great” Indian engineer or STEM professional, there are several useless desi consultants whose sloppy work, attitude and unethical practices give Indians a bad name in the US.

      Yes, Lucky, people like you are a part of the problem. Hopefully, visa reforms will weed out people who do not deserve to be here.

  13. A very well written article. I have seen this happen. My personally know friends who came to the US with the sole goal of getting a job via these useless consultancies. They get into nth grade universities and take useless courses, and scrape through the degree. Some do not even apply for a full-time position.

    To such people, I have only one thing to say. You are tarnishing the name of our country and you are devaluing the Master’s degree. Students who come here with genuine interest in academics and research feel the brunt due to the horrible image you guys portray of Indians.

    I wish the parents of these students realize what their ‘children in the US’ are doing. I am disappointed at our fellow countrymen here in the US !

    1. Ram – They really don’t care about tarnishing any values. If they had such values they wouldn’t even tried to come here for such low profile schools. i feel your pain, but reality hurts.

  14. Blaming these desi consultancies is not the solution.

    Let me tell you all one fact, This land is the land of opportunities. If we couldn’t get a proper job or lost out an opportunity, There is something else should be blamed for which is none but our self than ranting about desi consultancies. Its a human psychology and most importantly desi psychology to start the blame game when we loose out on something.. I know this thread is all about the DESI CONSULTANCIES but these guys are the last in the chain. The first is the SYSTEM and second is the greed.

    People who are talking about fake resumes and complaining about it…are the ones who couldn’t get better pay with their own original resumes. Most popular cause is this type of complain in personal ego and frequent comparison.

    People who are complaining about fake and proxy interviews are the same ones who got benefited by these desi consultancies at one point of time if not all but majority.

    We all know how H4 dependents got their H1B’s until last year. I am sure at least one who is part of this community did get their H1 through Desi consultancies. I have seen thousands of them who came to USA on H4 visa and with in two years they were working on H1b…Now, How did this happen ? Why couldn’t their spouses advise against taking such steps ?

    Every year, thousands of students are coming to US. Talented students find job easy. Some people might not be having a good idea about the market or skills and it takes time to learn those skills. These desi companies invest money and use unethical practices to find a job for them. This is a process which involves expenditure and a guy who is just out of university, Do you really expect them to have enough finances with them to take training themselves and learn skills on their own and find a job ? It would take an year at least and this itself is the question of survival and pressure of expensive student loans they take to reach here. If they couldn’t find a job, no question of OPT extension neither H1b…These guys need support. In US, who else can support these situations ?

    When it comes to filing of multiple H1b’s, If we ask our employers to file multiple H1’s, Why would these desi consultancies file multiple H1b’s unless we ask them to do ? I don’t think these desi consultancies are so generous to file multiple H1B’s as it involves an expenditure neither it is a charity.

    A guy who is working for three years on OPT, couldn’t be lucky in his previous attempts at H1 lottery, What chances does he want to take to make sure he is lucky third and final time ? What options does this guy left with ? The only option is to get on H1B…by hook or crook…and the only way is to file multiple H1 from these desi consultancies. If he files only one application and luck doesn’t favor as we know there are 233,000 applications and chances are only 1 of 4. If this guy doesn’t file multiple h1’s, the only other option left is to join a university and maintain his status by spending $15,000-20,000 a year and wait for another year to try his luck. Again an unethical legal way to work and maintain status.

    I have personally seen many guys, who turned out to be subject matter experts and champions in their field who few years couldn’t even speak or communicate properly and started their life with desi consultancies.

    Ideal situation for every student is to find a job on their own. But it does not happen for every student. Some might be talented enough to find a job right after the university. But it can’t happen with every student. Not every student can find a full time job. some students might be talented enough…some try to learn things…some need help in learning things…some learn during their master’s…some learn after the degree…some learn during their work. Just because someone found a job right after the university and worked hard and improved skills and joined a full time job, painting other students who couldn’t in black is nothing but discrimination based on TALENT.

    There might be enough jobs in the market but not every employer would be willing to file for H1. Contracting is not a bad option. Initial stages, people will find a way to survive here…a job..any kind of job..and that’s typical human mentality. I you give a guy options to choose, he would definitely choose from option he would better suit to. But when a situation arises and pushes into desperation, These guys would choose and take any route to land in a job to keep the status active. the rules are really tough and does not give leave too many options and in fact, these rules push these guys into desperation and that’s where the desi consultancies come into rescue.

    Yes. Its quite true that these unethical practices are now at a peak level and something needs to be done to keep a check..but in case if you people are not aware of such checks happening, Let me tell you all, it’s changing the way it used to be..

    Recruiters are now insisting on I-94 copies, passport copies, references, back ground checks, In person interviews, even if the candidate manages proxy , again there is a interview after joining the company…Some solid steps are being taken…Until last year, these were unheard of ..but now, Things are catching up. We are now falling into the same pit which were dug by desi consultancies two decades back. These unethical practices have been going on for two decades now. Now, it’s only a matter of few more months…at most two years from now, The entire market can be filtered off with fake resumes…and when the students are aware of this situation, They really wouldn’t go to these desi consultancies or at least majority of them..H4’s do not need H1 anymore, rather they wait until their spouses file for their H4 EAD than using these desi consultancies for their work authorization.

    All these unethical practices are hand in glove. All these things are born out of the question of survival and greed. Venting our anger and pointing out some of the experiences we came across in public discussion forums and turning towards USCIS to take of situation would not help as long as the immigration system is not streamlined.

    Doing such things, We are acting as a catalyst but not solution. We all know we can’t even create a solution for this situation very well. We are only helping the fire to burn much stronger but not diffuse it. Everyone have experiences, some are sweet and some are bitter. We are using these forums to spill out the venom based on our bitter experiences. All the responses are case related.

    The big question still remains…In fact two questions.

    1. Who started these desi consultancies over the years and who were the beneficiaries ?

    2. Why did the need arise to use services of these desi consultancies ?

    By discussing these things in public, we are making someone aware of these unethical practices and some one who is desperate for job stands out to loose the job. Just by discussing these issues here, We cannot make rules and regulations. We are only venting out anger…One can read the posts and the responses…they are all based on their experiences and issue based and Its no wonder at least one here is a beneficiary of these desi consultancies.

    “This is called as crab mentality. Sometimes referred to as crabs in the bucket, is a way of thinking best described by the phrase, “if I can’t have it, neither can you.”The metaphor refers to a bucket or pot of crabs. Individually, the crabs could easily escape from the pot, but instead they grab at each other in a useless “king of the hill” competition which prevents any from escaping and ensures their collective demise.The analogy in human behavior is claimed to be that members of a group will attempt to negate or diminish the importance of any member who achieves success beyond the others, out of envy, spite, conspiracy, or competitive feelings, to halt their progress.”

    We don’t need any law enforcement to come to the rescue of talented individuals who are losing opportunities because of these desi consulting companies. Things are getting tougher and tighter than before. Fake resumes are now a thing of past. Faking interviews would not be as easy as it used to be. Getting the resume shortlisted itself would become tougher as most recruiters are now insisting on I-94. Some recruiters are even checking out social media for our activity to support our resumes. Staffing companies are now maintaining a database of candidates who previously submitted the resumes, some are verifying the h1b status, etc.

    This unethical practices were not started overnight. Not one particular individual or a group started these things but evolved over the last 20 years. Now, how can one stop this over night ?

    I can quote another very good example. We all know that Infosys has made a deal with US law enforcement agencies for $35 million for visa abuse. Recently few weeks back, Narayana murthy , Founder of Infosys and one of the most respected in the industry said that IT companies are now acting as immigration agents.

    With all due respect for Mr.Murthy, His founding company also acted as immigration agent for decades but no one had any problem and now that Infosys has faced a situation, He feels IT companies are acting as immigration agents.

    Its reflecting a typical mentality across a broad spectrum. All the people who now have a problem with desi consultancies are the same ones who either in the past are beneficiaries or someone who think they couldn’t get the proper job for their talent because of these desi consultancies.

    I personally feel its not good to discuss these topics in forums like this. Although the intention of these type of threads is to empower and enhance the information so that going forward, people here or coming to USA find themselves in a better position and avoid exploitation by these desi consultancies but unknowingly, we might diminish the chances of present job seekers.

    Raghuram : I really appreciate the work you are doing on your part and behalf of happyschools.com to provide valuable tips, options and opinions which are really useful but to promote such a positive idea, It would be really good if we think about positive options to create opportunities rather than painting desi consultancies in dark and then creating an opinion.

    NOTE : I am from such a different kind of league. I am not supporting desi consultancies or their unethical practices. I am not a beneficiary of these consultancies neither i faked my resume any day. I am not from IT background. Before US, I worked in Europe and India.

    1. With all due respect… life is about merit (apart from those born with a silver spoon in their mouths). It is a talent competition. How on earth can you call that ‘discrimination by talent’? When we play sports, those who are athletically talented get to the top. I can’t go on and tell the referees it’s discrimination. At school, those who are intelligent and academically minded win and get into the best universities. Again, I can’t tell MIT that’s unfair. And yet somehow, that should stop once we enter the workforce or want to get a visa? This sort of thinking is exactly why some people who have learned to manipulate the system with zero talent can ruin perfectly good companies for others.

  15. “They pay you a 30% salary after the extraneous taxes they charge us” FYI taxes will be paying to Government not to desi consulting companies,

  16. Here is my story..
    I came to the US on a project assignment via one of the major Indian IT firms. My area of work is in Electrical Engineering-Power Systems. One of my colleagues on the client side was doing his PhD at Univ of Texas,Austin- a highly reputed university and based on my interactions with him, he suggested that I should try and get a PhD too. As PhD was a significantly longer term commitment, I decided to do a Masters instead and started preparing hard for GRE as Univ of Texas required a really good score for getting admitted.

    After 4 months of hard work, late nights and a lot of coffee, I scored a 326 on the GRE and managed to squeeze into the MS Elec Engg program. I then began discussions with my Manager based out of India and client team if I could have some flexibility in my work schedules so that I could attend classes and work at the same time. While the client team was very appreciative and supportive of my plans, my manager in India was furious and told me that the company had sent me to the US for its needs and not for my personal goals. I spent some sleepless nights and finally decided to quit my job and convert to F-1 status.

    Since I had close to 3 months before the start of my MS program, I planned my last working date accordingly but ended up having to extend that by 2 weeks due to delay in change of status processing. The university officials were also very particular about the dates and legal status and gave me full time student status only after producing my F-1 approval papers. My colleague from the client team helped me get a Research Associate position in one of the labs and that helped me have some income as well as ensured that my tuition stays at in-state rates. This was a big help as I had my wife and little one here with me and we somehow managed to survive on a very limited budget.

    In a little over 2 years, after a lot of hard work, wins, losses, joy and tears, I was ready to graduate and started applying for jobs and posted my resume and profiles all over the internet. Some of the initial campus recruitment based applications did not work out as the employers preferred local candidates and did not want to go through the hassle of H-1 visa process in the long term and that discouraged me a bit. At the same time, I was receiving 2-3 calls daily from some desi consultants and I initially ignored them because the persons calling in sounded silly and robotic. As I was getting desperate, I decided to check them out and went to one of their locations where they were offering ‘free’ lodging and stipend along with ‘training’. There I met a lot of desi guys who had passed out from small time shady colleges and who were eager to manipulate the system. The ‘training’ consisted of sessions on ‘how to include fake experience on your resume’ , ‘how to successfully lie on the interview’, ‘ how to remove all records of yourself on the internet to avoid being caught(facebook/linkedin/google+/etc). I was totally shocked and asked if all this would amount to illegal activity and what would be the consequences. But to my surprise, everyone looked at me like a fool and told me that “this is how things work in the US, if you don’t like it you can leave”.

    I was totally depressed and felt like an idiot that while having put in so much hard work and sacrifices, there were others who were happily manipulating the system-securing college admission without GRE or any requirements, getting a degree without any effort or need to attend a lot of classes, working full time while studying and getting placed without having any skills. To add insult to injury, one of the large companies that called me for interview had an Indian manager who asked me to bring my college ID card to the interview as he suspected me of being a fake. Even after doing very well in the interview, he insisted that I provide a minimum of 12 verifiable references!

    However, being patient paid off and i started getting calls directly from some of the reputed companies that I had applied for, including the client company I worked for initially. At the end of it all, around two weeks, before I graduated, I had 4 plum offers with commitment to file for H1 and GC based on performance. I decided to join the client company that I worked for earlier at a Sr Engineer position and as expected my previous Indian manager complained to the company that they could not recruit me due to some contract terms from my previous placement as a contractor. Luckily, the terms associated with that contract had timed out and I was able to go ahead and join the company. Today my previous manager addresses me as “Sir” and requests my help in getting projects approved for outsourcing to his team.

    So, life has come a full circle and I take pride in my job and in the decisions that I took to get to this point. I love the respect that I am getting because of being a student from a reputed university. My advice and learning is that getting a job takes time and it may seem like nothing is happening at first. Start early and be patient and honest.If you are deserving, there is a good chance that you will get the job. If you don’t, it just means that you need to get better at what you do. Do not give in to the temptation of shortcuts. There is no pride, respect or satisfaction along that route in the long term.

    1. “Today my previous manager addresses me as “Sir” and requests my help in getting projects approved for outsourcing to his team.”
      You still don’t understand. You are assisting in outsourcing [eventually] your own job. The saying is: “What goes around, comes around.” The H1Bs who came 20 years ago have long been ousted from the job market – by new H1Bs and by outsourcing.

  17. Hi Raghu, now as we see how the situation is (and it’s not going to change soon) what do you suggest to the thousands of students who are pursuing their master’s ? You’ve said above that job search is a skill, Do you still think that new grads have a fair chance of getting good full time jobs by developing that skill without the need of giving into these CONsultancies ?

    1. I did training on Job Search this weekend. Yes, absolutely. You can engineer your job search.

  18. Hello, I think the candidates are equally to blame.
    1) Right out of college, candidate needs $50 /per hr or more. Candidate themselves wants to fake there resume in order to get more hourly rate. These days they are on % basis. They know how much the constancy is making and how much they are making.So don’s just blame the consultancies.
    2) If you tell an OPT candidate that you will get only $20 per hr with real resume. Would he join a project, NO. He wants to earn as much and as fast as possible and encourages to increase the experience.
    If the candidate project gets over, He needs to go back to India ( How many would ?) If they are forced by the consultancies to go back to home (as required by law), they will do all sorts of tricks to remain in the country. We all know …
    3) Consultants are ready to come to US at any salary, they are thugs and cheats they have it in there mind that as soon as they land in US they start searching for a job. Even though they have signed an agreement with the sponsoring company, Leaving the sponsored company in shambles and loss of amount spend on H1b. Right ?
    4) Candidates are equally to blame, we all know.
    5) USCIS should crack down on CHEAT Consultancies and equally on CHEAT candidates willing to do anything to come to US to ditch there employer.

    1. Rahul, thanks for your comments. Good thoughts.

      I agree. Some students are pretty sure about that they want. I spoke to my cousin in Rutgers. He said he never heard anyone from his college going to consultant.

      But, if you look at other schools ( typically where students attend with lower GRE), you can see them going to consultants.

      1. HI Raghu,
        Not really the low GRE students would go to consultants, I got low GRE, but I searched jobs and applied over 200 companies with my original resume (No Fake experience). So, I was succeeded and got full time job. I know people with high GRE score people also chooses consultancies, I have seen many cases. Its all the people mindset and their attitudes towards to earn more money in short time.

      2. Hello Raghu sir,

        I am basically done my undergraduate in Aeronautical Engineering and presently am doing my Masters in Mechanical Engineering.

        I would like to know what companies can hire international students for these Streams.

        I have applied some companies to get an Internship but it was no use.

        Every company needed US citizen ship

        As a F-1 student how can he search a job or Internship?

        Are there any Web Links to know

        Please Reply

        1. As a mechanical engineer. It is not easy. Mainly because most of the big firms in the field do not hire international students for entry level jobs(even if you are extremely talented). Think of Boeing, SpaceX, Rolls Royce, GE, Boston Dynamics(mainly because most of these companies have government/military funding).
          I even got through to few rounds of interview for Boeing until one day I was asked about my status and was told they don’t hire international students for entry level jobs.
          However, it does not mean that they don’t hire international workers at all. They do but more at expert level. If you have worked for another company for few years and then they will hire you in their non military division.

          As a mechanical engineer, I would look for manufacturing companies (think semiconductor, even some car manufacturers). Obviously companies like apple will hire you but again very few entry level opportunities. Another major field is petroleum (these companies hire international students). Right now, may be not the best option.

          Another field where mechanical engineers get jobs are small firms that do engineering consulting, MEP design, green energy services (think solar, LEED). Some energy services companies like National Grid, Con Edison( who supply electricity, natural gas and steam). Building services is full with small engineering consulting firms that have no objection to hiring foreign students. Again, it is hard to get hired in big firms like Jacobs, Buro-Happold. However, small firms (mainly in east coast(Boston, New York), California, Colorado, and even Texas). Since these are very small companies, they don’t come to your school to hire talent. So, you have to look yourself. Also, Linkedin has a lot of recruiters who focus on this field. If you have at least a year or two after your undergraduate, it is not that difficult to get a job in this field.
          Hope this helps.

        2. There are companies like Rockwell Collins who hire international graduates. Look in angellist.co and LinkedIn. Being in a non CS field, it is challenging. Have you considered a PhD?

    2. Rahul,
      I get what you are saying but, does that justifies these consultancies to fake the resumes, abuse the immigration system and carry on doing their shady business?

  19. Fear conquers most indians, including me till yesterday.
    I dont have any fear of losing a job or losing GC or H1B.
    If i do i do, i dont care. I cant be a slave to the system.
    I decided i wont live my life in fear and others taking advantage of me.
    I made the decision last nite and if i am told to go, i will walk out with my
    head high and not beg or request or transfer to other desi consultancy.
    People think i am crazy but if i know that i can make it here i can make it anywhere. I got that confidence. Good luck to all my other H1B and L1.
    Happy Slavery day is April 1st.

  20. Hi Raghu,

    There are students who think they can get H1 or GC through consultancies only. Because lot of guidance or awareness. As you know your desi people follow their friends,relatives etc. They doesn’t know the truth. No one encourages for full times at the start of the carrier. Please provide knowledge and educate the all of the people who follows your blog to get the jobs without approaching desi consultancies. That will help atleast 1 in 100’s who are really having knowledge.

    1. seems to be you have some experience with this, I feel glad if you do share some information regarding this

  21. I will say, if you are student in computer science, start applying earlier. Lot of schools has career guidance department; Use it to get feedback on your resume. Go on web and study, google it, use stack overflow. Even if you fail interviews, it will be an experience for next interview. I know it’s very frustrating but do not use short cuts. With short cuts you might get a job, but it will make your life miserable. I know education loan is troublesome part but have patience.

    1. Manoj – Did you see the previous comment? There are students who assume that “consultants” are the only way to find a job and get green card sponsorship. What can you do about that?

      1. Surprisingly, lot of people has absolutely wrong assumption about GC. I talked with lot of students, who were on OPT, has same thinking about GC. All major, mid-size or small companies file your GC depending on your performance; may be in 6 months or 1 year after your H1 starts (Policies may vary company to company). But think about this, a good peaceful professional and personal life with company or every-6-month (or may be 1 year) location-change-life with short cut.

  22. These consultancies are not only abusing the immigration system but also creating problems for the students who want to work in their core field. One of the big reason the H1B lottery has worsened because these consultancies submit multiple applications for the same candidate. This creates a problem for students who have found a job with honest means and not faking the resumes.

  23. If I don’t work through these consultancies, then who will apply for my green card. Not all the clients in US sponsor a green card, right?? This is also a valid reason for many why they work with the consultancies. And remember, once they get ead ot GC, then they will go by themselves.
    And I have to agree that if this situation continues for few more years, there will be lots and lots of consultancies and it will be very hard to find a good job with decent pay.

      1. Hi Raghu, currently I have been with my consultancy for the last 20 months and my consultancy applied for my GC. My labor was approved. And they are going to apply for my I-140.
        Is there any way for me to get rid of my consultancy and work with some other employer that I like? Then what happens to my GC application? And if possible, could you please let me know how to find an employer who can apply for my GC without going through a consultancy. Because I heard that ONLY FEW of the top big companies like IBM, Microsoft, Target, Amazon and etc do sponsor GC. But many of us work for small clients distributed across USA, right? Then how to get a GC? Please, I request you to explain this through your website. I appreciate your help, Thanks

        1. I don’t think there is anything wrong with joining a small company or a start up for that matter.

          It is more about how these desi consultancies are flooding the job market with fake resumes and following unethical practices. In turn , they are – cheating their clients, exploiting their employees and making it difficult for actually deserving candidates to get a job.

          Again, as the article states – not all desi consultancies follow these unethical practices.

  24. This seems more of a norm now rather than an exception.

    I came to US 4 years ago and got a job offer from a small consulting company without knowing what i was getting into. Once my initial project(the one for which i got the offer) was about to be over, he started pushing my resume to every other project- faking it as per the job description. I confronted him about it and he started fighting with me, telling me that I would not get a job anywhere if i don’t “change” my resume as per the Job. Thankfully, got a new job immediately based on my actual experience and transferred my H1b.

    My husband works in a big firm and interviews a lot of candidates for contracting positions. He says more than half of these are fake resumes and anybody with an MS degree is a big red flag. What’s disappointing is he has caught them many times (even on Skype) and they are not even apologetic.

    My brother is doing his MBA in US and graduating this year. He gets a lot of calls from desi consulting companies because of his experience in BI prior to his MBA. All of them straight away tell him that he ll be “trained” and they ll be placing him after editing his resume to something about 7-8 years of experience which he does not have. Thankfully, he has taken a stand to not join these companies and is instead looking for positions which are relevant to his MBA and does not require him to fake his experience.

      1. It is disturbing. But the problem that I see for student’s with opt is this vicious cycle that has already been created and it increasing.

        If you go get a job at an actual firm then you will have one H-1B that they will apply. But the problem is with these consultancies, people are applying through 3-4 companies. And if you are one of those who only applies through one actual firm then you risk a chance of not even getting through the lottery. And then what?

        I applied through one company last year and did not get H-1. And I am applying again this year with the same company. But with the consultancies and volume of applicants , the chances are slim. I din’t go through multiple applications but I can see why other people will go through these consultancies and apply with 3-4 applications because it will give you better odds.

        And as long as government does not track these companies, this cycle will continue and keep on increasing.

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