Walmart rebuts H-1B visa scandal claims, but US Senator asks if it's time to ‘pause’ program in fresh worry for Indians

Even as Walmart said their recent firings had nothing to do with H-1B visas, US Senator Mike Lee wondered if it was time to ‘pause’ the program.

Unverified reports had hinted at a scandal involving H-1B visa holders working for Walmart, and went on to claim that the Global Tech division's Vice President was fired over it.

Walmart, earlier this year, had announced plans to lay off 1500 workers, which was part of its restructuring efforts. (Bloomberg)

Walmart has now issued a clarification.

“Following an investigation, Walmart recently terminated one vendor and a small number of U.S.-based associates. This investigation had nothing to do with H1B visas,” a company spokesperson in a statement to Hindustan Times.

The claims began on Blind – a platform where verified employees can discuss work issues. A person there said a ‘massive fraud’ went down at the American multinational retail corporation. The alleged incident was also reported on by CTOL Digital Solutions, a Switzerland-based IT consultancy. However, they noted the lack of confirmation or verification of the information from Walmart.

These claims had then been amplified on X, by a profile self-labeled as a ‘H-1B whistleblower’. They were echoed in the r/Layoffs Reddit forum as well. The CTOL Digital Solutions report claims that Walmart severed ties with Caspex-sourced contractors over a kickback operation that gave preferential treatment to some contractual agencies within the retailer's vast ecosystem. However, it is the X account which draws the link with H-1B visa holders.

Grok, had at that time fact checked these claims, saying “Based on searches, reports of Walmart terminating ~1,200 contractors linked to Caspex and a VP kickback scandal appear in forums like Blind and Reddit, but remain unconfirmed rumors—no official Walmart statement exists as of Aug 23, 2025.”

US Senator raises fresh concerns for Indians

Despite the Walmart firings having nothing to do with H-1B visas, as per the company, US Senator Mike Lee of Utah on X, shared a screenshot of the CTOL Digital Solutions report, asking if it was time to pause H-1B visas.

Thus, while earlier fears that some Indians had over the now-disproven Walmart visa scandal were dispelled, the senator's statements have given new cause for concern. This comes amid a crackdown on immigration by the Donald Trump government.

A post on Reddit, on the r/nri forum had explained “How the Walmart VP Kickback Scam Will Hurt Indians in the U.S.” While some said in the comments that these kickbacks are ‘very common’, one person admitted that it might ‘sour’ perceptions.

“Yeah people are not blind - it’s completely expected that the West’s mindset would sour over the blatant displays of nepotism that have been going on for the last 50 years,” the Reddit poster commented. “History shows what happens when a community gets branded as scammers — violence always follows,” the original poster remarked. “Time to pack up and build something real rather than living on mercy of others,” commented another.

Walmart, earlier this year, had announced plans to lay off 1500 workers, which was part of its restructuring efforts. Although this had nothing to do with H-1B workers, there was backlash on social media that the layoffs were being orchestrated to replace US workers with H-1B holders.

Meanwhile, reports of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), India’s largest IT services firm, being probed by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) for discriminatory layoffs, came this year. Bloomberg reported, at the time, complainants had claimed that Indian workers, especially those on H-1B skilled visas were retained, while many from non-South Asian backgrounds were let go.