By: Dr. Avi Verma

Fake degrees and immigration scams are real, but the viral “90% of Indian H-1B applications are fraudulent” claim distorts separate events and unfairly casts suspicion on millions of honest Indians

India today stands at a very different place in the world than it did two decades ago.

Its economy, technology sector, scientific capabilities, entrepreneurial energy and geopolitical influence have expanded dramatically. Around the world, Indian-origin professionals occupy leadership positions in medicine, technology, academia, finance, business and government.

Yet, amid this remarkable rise, a disturbing narrative has emerged online: that 90 percent of Indian H-1B visa applications are fraudulent and that a massive fake-degree operation has exposed an industrial-scale pipeline of Indian professionals entering the United States with bogus qualifications.

There is a serious problem behind the headlines, but the viral narrative is misleading.

Fake degrees exist. Immigration fraud exists. Dishonest recruiters and document-forgers exist. But the evidence does not establish that 90 percent of Indian H-1B applications are fraudulent.

What has happened is a classic case of unrelated events being combined, dates removed and old statements presented as if they were evidence of a newly uncovered crisis.

The fraud is real

India has every reason to take academic fraud seriously.

In December 2025, Kerala Police dismantled a major interstate certificate-forging network and seized approximately 100,000 counterfeit certificates and academic documents. Investigators described an organized operation involving forged educational credentials distributed across several parts of India.

The scandal surrounding Manav Bharti University in Himachal Pradesh is another example. An investigation by a Special Investigation Team reported that approximately 36,000 fake degrees had allegedly been issued over more than a decade.

These are not trivial offenses.

A fake degree can allow an unqualified individual to obtain employment, misrepresent professional competence or potentially enter fields where inadequate qualifications can endanger others.

Those who manufacture, sell or knowingly use fraudulent credentials should face the full consequences of the law.

But there is an equally important question:

Do these cases prove that most Indian H-1B applicants are fraudulent?

No.

The origin of the “90 percent” claim

The statistic circulating online has a much more complicated history.

The 80-to-90-percent figure has been attributed to Mahvash Siddiqui, a former U.S. consular officer who served in Chennai between 2005 and 2007.

Siddiqui later described serious problems she said she encountered during her diplomatic posting, including forged educational documents and applicants whose qualifications did not match their claims.

Her experience is worth examining. If a consular officer encountered widespread fraud at a particular post, that deserves attention.

But an anecdotal or retrospective assessment from a particular location nearly 20 years ago is not the same thing as a current nationwide statistical audit of Indian H-1B applications.

That distinction has largely disappeared in the viral version of the story.

Three different stories, one viral narrative

The chronology exposes the problem.

The major Kerala forgery investigation occurred in late 2025.

The Manav Bharti University scandal became prominent in 2020 to 2021.

The consular observations behind the “80 to 90 percent” statement date to 2005 to 2007.

They are separate events.

The narrative became even more confusing when older American immigration-sting operations involving fictitious universities were added to the discussion.

In 2016, U.S. immigration authorities used the fictitious University of Northern New Jersey in an undercover operation targeting immigration-fraud brokers.

Three years later, the University of Farmington operation in Michigan similarly targeted alleged “pay-to-stay” immigration schemes. Hundreds of predominantly Indian students became caught up in the investigation, prompting protests and diplomatic concerns from India.

These cases were real.

But they were not a 2026 discovery that 90 percent of Indian H-1B applicants were using fake degrees.

There is no excuse for fraud

None of this should become an excuse to minimize immigration fraud.

The United States has prosecuted cases involving fraudulent H-1B petitions, sham employment arrangements, illegal fees and dishonest staffing or recruiting practices. Indian nationals have been among the individuals involved in some of these cases.

Where fraud is proven, prosecution is appropriate.

The United States has a legitimate responsibility to protect the integrity of its immigration system. India has an equally important responsibility to ensure that its educational institutions and credential-verification systems cannot be exploited by criminal networks.

But enforcement must target fraud, not nationality.

The unintended victims are the honest

The greatest damage may ultimately be suffered by people who have done nothing wrong.

Consider the Indian engineer with a legitimate degree from a respected university.

The Indian physician who completed years of rigorous medical education and training.

The software professional who built a career through genuine qualifications.

The researcher whose work is recognized internationally.

The student who spends years earning a legitimate degree and then seeks an opportunity abroad.

When fake-degree scandals repeatedly become associated with “Indian professionals,” these people may face an uncomfortable consequence: their credentials can be viewed through the lens created by someone else’s dishonesty.

The honest Indian should not have to prove his or her integrity because a criminal sold a counterfeit certificate.

Yet that is precisely how reputational damage works.

A challenge for India and the diaspora

India’s extraordinary global progress makes protecting the credibility of Indian talent more important than ever.

The answer is not to deny that fraud exists.

The answer is to eliminate it.

Universities must maintain reliable, independently verifiable academic records. Credential-verification systems should become faster and more secure. Professional bodies must aggressively investigate fraudulent qualifications. Law-enforcement agencies must pursue the networks that manufacture and distribute counterfeit documents.

The Indian diaspora also has a stake in this battle.

Every Indian professional living abroad benefits from the credibility established by generations of honest students, entrepreneurs, scientists, doctors, engineers and workers.

That credibility must be protected.

A blemish, not a definition

India’s global success should not be measured by its worst offenders.

Every country has people who cheat, forge documents, exploit immigration systems or misrepresent their qualifications. Their crimes do not define everyone who happens to share their nationality.

The same standard should apply to Indians.

Expose the fraudsters. Prosecute them. Shut down the credential mills. Strengthen verification.

But do not turn separate investigations, historical anecdotes and genuine individual cases into a sweeping allegation against an entire community.

The Indian diaspora has earned its reputation through decades of hard work and achievement.

A few dishonest people may put a blemish on that reputation.

They should never be allowed to define it.