A US policy researcher has cast doubt on viral claims that a single immigration lawyer in Texas was responsible for approving hundreds of thousands of H-1B visas, calling the allegation impossible, misleading and 'wild.'
American policy researcher and fellow at the Institute for Progress, Connor O’Brien, reacted to the claim on X, saying: “It would be wild if a single immigration lawyer had 700,000 clients successfully receiving H-1B visas in a single year, considering that's roughly the size of the entire population of people in America on the visa. Color me skeptical!”
Connor alsp shared shared a data sheet showing the actual number of H‑1B beneficiaries in the US each year, which is far lower than the 700,000 figure claimed in the viral video.
It would be wild if a single immigration lawyer had 700,000 clients successfully receiving H-1B visas in a single year, considering that's roughly the size of the entire population of people in America on the visa.Color me skeptical! https://t.co/zyPaqIL1oQ pic.twitter.com/bxOFouVIiT
— Connor O’Brien (@cojobrien) January 30, 2026
| Fiscal year | H-1B petitions approved |
|---|---|
| 2016 | ~357,211 |
| 2017 | ~373,392 |
| 2018 | ~334,961 |
| 2019 | ~389,378 |
| 2020 | ~426,710 |
His comments follow the circulation of a viral video last month that alleged large-scale visa fraud involving a Dallas-based immigration attorney, Chand Parvathaneni. The video claimed that Indian-origin Parvathaneni had “approved” around 700,000 H-1B visa applications since 2020 and suggested links to IT shell companies.
Parvathaneni responded to the allegations and said in a statement: "As immigration attorneys, we do not have financial or ownership interests in any of our client companies. We do not guarantee approvals, and our work and fees remain the same regardless of whether a case is approved or denied. Our role is limited to preparing and filing petitions based on information provided by employers."
The central claim of the alleged claim was inaccurate in itself. Immigration lawyers do not approve visas. H-1B petitions are approved or rejected by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), while attorneys only prepare and file applications on behalf of employers.
Data from H-1B tracking platforms such as MyVisaJobs shows that Parvathaneni has been associated with more than 20,000 Labour Condition Applications since around 2020.
The viral video alleged cases where multiple IT companies listed the same residential addresses in suburbs such as Irving, Frisco and Plano. It claimed that dozens of H1-B workers were linked to single houses and referred to a so-called “99% suspicion rate”. However, these figures are not based on official findings.
Shared or residential addresses having multiple H1-B workers are not automatically illegal. Small firms, remote operations and start-ups may legally operate from residential locations
The MAGA base and 'America First' supporters claim that there is a rampant misuse of the H-1B programme going on in US, even after the Trump administration introduced several tough guidelines on the visa system.
