The controversy over H-1B workers continues to fester, this time in a visa fraud case filed in federal court against a company that hired temporary workers. In the case, the federal court in Iowa is up against a South Plainfield, New Jersey-based IT firm, Visions Systems Group, the government alleges that the company was "displacing qualified American workers" by hiring H-1B visa workers instead, reports Computerworld.

The charges involving visa fraud point out that the total number of workers employed in IT under the H-1B program substantially exceeded the 241,000 unemployed U.S. IT workers, according to the Feds. To clarify this math, there are 85,000 H-1B visas issued a year, and one can only conclude that the federal government is counting every H-1B tech holder regardless of when the document was issued and when it expires.

But the federal government is moving ahead with its argument. The United States said it is "prepared to demonstrate to the court the manner in which the defendant's schemes, along with similar schemes by similar companies have substantially deprived U.S. citizens of employment."

And it noted that Vision Systems "consistently hired only foreign workers in order to fill information technology positions within the United States," Patrick Thibodeau reported in a Computerworld article. Lawyers for Vision Systems challenged the government's case and said that anyone could apply for a job at the company.

This single case may become the first time that controversy over H-1B visas has been aired in court and may force a judge to decide who can be hired and under what circumstances. However, the case may only be decided on the narrowest of issues, leaving the broader debate for another day.

For more on this explosive issue:
- see this Computerworld article

Related Articles:
Have H-1B visas lost their luster?
Which companies received H-1B visas in '08?
Stimulus plan restricts H-1B hires
Feds bust H-1B visa scam
Senate moves toward H-1B curbs