‘Pay Us or Lose Your Visa’: Indian H-1B Worker Sues Employer Over Alleged $100,000 Extortion Scheme

For many international students, getting selected for an H-1B visa is supposed to be the hard part.

Rishikesh Raj Meesala says his real struggle began after that.

The Indian tech professional has filed a lawsuit in Texas accusing his employer, a technology company run by Indian-origin businessman Sai Jitender Kalagra, of using his immigration status as leverage to extract money, withhold wages and keep him trapped in a job he could not easily leave.

According to court filings, Meesala came to the US on a student visa, completed his master’s degree in 2023 and later secured an H-1B-sponsored job that he believed would eventually put him on the path to permanent residency.

Instead, he says he found himself paying to stay employed.

The lawsuit claims that shortly after officially starting work in October 2024, he was placed on the “bench”,  a common industry term for employees who are not assigned to client projects. But what allegedly followed was far from common.

Meesala claims he was told he would not be paid while waiting for project assignments. Instead, he says company officials demanded that he fund his own payroll so employment records would continue to show he was working.

Why did that matter?

Because for many H-1B workers, payroll records are more than just salary documents. They are often essential proof of legal employment. Without them, transferring to another employer, extending visa status or dealing with immigration authorities can become far more difficult.

According to the lawsuit, the company knew exactly how much power that gave it.

The complaint alleges that Meesala eventually handed over thousands of dollars in cash because he feared losing his legal right to remain in the United States. In total, the lawsuit claims he was pressured into payments approaching $100,000 through a combination of alleged wage withholding, demanded fees and other financial obligations.

The case becomes even more troubling from there.

Meesala alleges that when he pushed back, company representatives threatened to report him to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The lawsuit also claims threats were made against his father. In one of the more startling allegations, the complaint says company officials accessed his Gmail account to determine whether he had contacted an attorney.

Those claims have not been independently verified.

The lawsuit accuses the defendants of forced labour, labour trafficking, document servitude, wage theft and immigration-related coercion. Meesala is seeking more than $97,000 in damages, along with additional relief from the court.

The case is drawing attention because it touches on a long-running criticism of the H-1B system itself.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of highly skilled foreign professionals enter the US workforce through the program. Indians make up by far the largest group. According to US government data, India-born workers received more than 283,000 H-1B approvals in fiscal year 2024, accounting for roughly 71 per cent of all approved petitions.

Supporters argue the visa programhelps American companies fill critical talent shortages in technology, engineering and other specialised sectors.

Critics, however, point to cases like this one as evidence of a structural imbalance. When a worker’s legal status is tied to a single employer, they say, some become vulnerable to exploitation because walking away from a job can also mean risking their future in the country.

Whether Meesala’s allegations ultimately hold up in court remains to be seen.

But the lawsuit has once again raised an uncomfortable question for the US tech industry: when a worker’s visa, income and immigration future are all controlled by the same employer, how much freedom do they really have?

Read More: 'Really Crazy, 'Hurting Country Very Badly': Trump on Federal Court Ruling Striking Down $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee