Piscataway Man Charged With Immigration Fraud

PISCATAWAY, NJ — A Middlesex County, New Jersey, man was arrested Tuesday morning, Feb. 5, by federal agents for allegedly submitting 11 fraudulent H-1B visa applications as well as fraudulently procuring his own citizenship, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Neeraj Sharma, 43, of Piscataway, is charged with one count of visa fraud and one count of naturalization fraud.

According to the U.S. Attorney, Sharma recruited foreign workers with purported IT expertise who sought work in the United States. When submitting the potential staffers’ H-1B visa paperwork to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Sharma falsely represented that the foreign workers had full-time positions awaiting them at a national bank, a prerequisite to securing their visas. In fact, Sharma had never secured work for the applicants and submitted phony letters to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on the bank’s letterhead with forged signatures of bank executives.

The H-1B visa program applies to employers seeking to hire non-immigrant aliens as workers in specialty occupations or as fashion models of distinguished merit and ability.

The visa and naturalization fraud charges carry a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. You can read the complaint by the U.S. Attorney's office against Sharma here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-n...

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