US economist and former Congressman Dave Brat has triggered a fresh political storm over America's H-1B visa programme, alleging "industrial-scale fraud" centred on the US consulate in Chennai.
Speaking on Steve Bannon's 'War Room' podcast, Brat claimed that one Indian district received about 2,20,000 H-1B visas, even though US law caps new H-1B visas at 85,000 a year.
Brat argued that the system has been "captured by industrial-scale fraud," saying 71% of H-1B visas go to Indian nationals, while only 12% are issued to Chinese workers. "There's a cap of only 85,000 H-1B visas, yet somehow one district in India, the Madras (Chennai) district got 220,000. That's 2.5 times the cap… When you hear H-1B, think of your family, because these fraudulent visas just stole their future," he said.
DR. DAVE BRAT: 71% of H-1B visas come from India. The national cap is 85,000, yet one Indian district got 220,000! That's 2.5x the limit!
November 24, 2025
When you hear H-1B, think of your family, because these fraudulent visas just stole their future.@brateconomics pic.twitter.com/8O1v8qVJPeThe Chennai consulate is one of the busiest H-1B posts in the world, handling work visa applicants from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Telangana which are all major IT and tech hubs. US government data says the mission processed roughly 2,20,000 H-1B visas and 1,40,000 H-4 dependent visas in 2024, as reported by Moneycontrol.
Brat's remarks are similar to earlier allegations by Mahvash Siddiqui, an Indian-origin former US Foreign Service officer who served in Chennai between 2005 and 2007.
Siddiqui recently described the H-1B pipeline from India as "industrialised fraud", claiming that 80–90% of Indian H-1B cases she saw involved fake degrees, forged job offers or applicants who were not truly highly skilled. She also alleged that Hyderabad's Ameerpet area hosted shops openly selling counterfeit documents to visa hopefuls.
Donald Trump's Stand On H1B Visa
US President Donald Trump has a "very nuanced and commonsense opinion" on the issue of H-1B visas and does not support American workers being replaced, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
She said that ultimately, Trump always wants to see American workers in those jobs, and he's told foreign companies investing in the country that they "better be hiring my people if you're going to be doing business in the United States."
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