After Indian techie Naveen Tummala’s viral fight with a Texas journalist, a major controversy erupted over whether H-1Bs can help their spouses set up businesses.
Indian techie Naveen Tummala is at the center of a major controversy after Texas journalist Sarah Gonzales visited his Golconda Express food truck in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and confronted him, saying he can’t drive a food truck because he is on an H-1B sponsored by Flexera Global. Tummala hit back and said he neither owned the truck nor worked there – the food business was owned by his wife, and he was simply helping his wife after her office hours. The wife was not present at the food truck and Gonzales claimed that on some permit papers, Tummala identified himself as the owner. After the video went viral and Tummala pushed back against Gonzales saying that he was well aware of her H-1B rules and Gonzales could do whatever he wanted, a huge controversy broke out on social media and the Indian-American community criticized Gonzales and defended Tummala. The Indian-American community said H-1B visa holders cannot take payment from any other source, but they can help their spouses set up small businesses. Siddharth, co-founder of the Indian-American Advocacy Council, said that indirect involvement in a business for H-1Bs is not illegal, but in the video, Sara Gonzalez behaved as if Tummala was a criminal/ Siddharth wrote, “Let me make this clear – this guy works a full-time tech job, pays taxes, and his wife started a small business that serves the local community and probably employs Americans. His wife runs it. He helps out after 9-5. She doesn’t get paid. Is there a technical gray area in immigration law about helping a spouse’s business? Yes. Immigration lawyers can argue that’s the limit. Where is it?”Siddharth said, “But this is an immigrant family that is creating jobs, serving their neighbors and contributing to the local economy. This is the American dream coming true. And instead of recognizing that, why should someone show up with a camera to turn a hard-working family into anger fodder?”
‘If the wife needs help, she can hire an American employee’
Indian-origin Republican Rohit Joy opposed Siddharth’s defense, saying there was no gray area in it and that it was illegal. Joy wrote, “This is illegal. If his wife needs help running her food truck, she can hire an American worker. And, the H-4 EAD, which presumably allows his wife to run a food truck business, is an illegal program created without Congressional permission.”“He can also run a food truck under an LLC, as long as he’s not taking any wages from it. The restrictions on H1B are about collecting wages. If he’s not collecting wages, there’s nothing to see here. He can donate his labor to family, friends, and even strangers,” wrote another.