Indian outsourcer Infosys said its use of B-1 visas in the U.S. was for legitimate business purposes and was not designed to circumvent the requirements of the H-1B visa program.
“No criminal charges have been filed against the company and no court rulings have been issued,” said Infosys, which in the third quarter derived over 61 percent of its revenue from providing low-cost services to North America.
The response from Infosys late Tuesday comes in the wake of reports that the U.S. government is planning to fine India’s second-largest outsourcer about $35 million on Wednesday over the company’s use of B-1 visas which are intended for short-terms visits instead of longer duration H-1B temporary work visas.
The use of workers from India on outsourcing projects has traditionally been a contentious issue, particularly as Indian outsourcers are seen as displacing U.S. workers.
Infosys said it is in the process of a resolution with the U.S., but added that “the resolution has not been finalized.”
A company spokeswoman late Tuesday declined to provide further information, including whether a settlement was likely to be announced Wednesday.
“Infosys denies any claims of systemic visa fraud, misuse of visas for competitive advantage, or immigration abuse. Those claims are untrue and only unproven assertions,” the company said in the statement.
Infosys announced a provision of $35 million towards “visa related matters,” while announcing its earnings earlier this month. In a subsequent statement, the company clarified that the sum would include legal costs relating to a proposed resolution with U.S. agencies over their “investigation into the Company’s compliance with Form I-9 requirements and past use of B-1 visas.”
Form I-9s are used for verifying the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the U.S.
Infosys received in May 2011 a subpoena from a grand jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas that required that the company provide to the grand jury certain documents and records related to its sponsorships and uses of B-1 business visas. The company said it complied with the subpoena. The company has also confirmed that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had said it found errors in a significant percentage of its Forms I-9 that it had reviewed, and may impose fines and penalties on the company for the alleged errors.
Infosys came under scrutiny in the U.S. after Jack Palmer, an Infosys employee in the U.S., alleged that the company committed visa fraud and that he had faced mistreatment for questioning the practice.
John Ribeiro, IDG News Service , IDG News Service
John Ribeiro covers outsourcing and general technology breaking news from India for The IDG News Service. More by John Ribeiro, IDG News Service
We the Kings bassist and YouTube celebrity Charles Trippy recently uploaded to YouTube a video of his brain surgery. This is an amazingly powerful thing to watch and I recommend taking the time to do so if you have any interest in the brain and/or medicine that you watch it.
FILE - In this July 26, 2003 file photo, Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, speaks during the National Urban League's annual conference in Philadelphia. Fulton is expected to tell a Senate panel Tuesday that states must clarify their "stand your ground" self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
FILE - In this July 26, 2003 file photo, Sybrina Fulton, mother of Trayvon Martin, speaks during the National Urban League's annual conference in Philadelphia. Fulton is expected to tell a Senate panel Tuesday that states must clarify their "stand your ground" self-defense laws. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Trayvon Martin's mother told a panel of senators Tuesday that state stand your ground self-defense laws do not work and must be amended, reviving the politically charged gun control issue.
Democrats who hold majority power in the Senate and are trying to keep it supported Sybrina Fulton's call. Republicans, led by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, said the matter should be left to the states that passed the laws.
"The states are doing quite well...without our interference," Rep. Louie Gohmert testified to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Said Cruz: "This is not about politicking. This is not about inflaming racial tensions. This is about the right of everyone to protect themselves and protect their families." Cruz made reference to statistics he said which show that blacks cite stand your ground laws at least as often as whites
But race and politics were woven into the event and in the broader public policy debate. There's little willingness in Congress to weigh in on the laws of 22 states that have some form of the policy. These laws generally cancel a person's duty to retreat in the face of a serious physical attack.
But members of Congress are busily engaged in their re-election efforts for next year's midterms, with 35 seats at stake in the Senate, all 435 seats in the GOP-controlled House and the majorities of both chambers hanging in the balance. Gun control is a politically divisive issue, more so in the wake of mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., the Washington Navy Yard and more.
The 2012 shooting death of Martin, 17 and unarmed, and the acquittal this year of neighborhood watch volunteer George, Zimmerman stirred racial tensions and sparked debate over stand your ground laws in Florida and at least 21 other states.
Martin's mother told the panel that she attended the hearing so senators can "at least put a face with what has happened with this tragedy."
"I just wanted to come here to...let you know how important it is that we amend this stand your ground because it certainly did not work in my case," Fulton said, speaking without consulting prepared remarks. "The person that shot and killed my son is walking the streets today. This law does not work."
Lucia Holman McBath, the mother of Jordan Russell Davis, implored the Senate to resolve the nation's debate. Her son, 17-year old Jordan, was shot and killed nearly a year ago when Michael David Dunn, 46, allegedly opened fire on a Dodge Durango with four teenagers inside after complaining of their loud music and saying he saw a gun and thus a threat. Jordan had been inside. Authorities never found a gun in the vehicle, the Florida Times-Union reported. Dunn's trial is set for next year.
"You can lift this nation from its internal battle in which guns rule over right," McBath told the panel.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 22 states have laws that allow that "there is no duty to retreat (from) an attacker in any place in which one is lawfully present." The states are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia, according to the NCSL.
At least nine of those state laws include language stating one may "stand his or her ground": Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and South Carolina, according to the NCSL.
Contact: Susan Hendrix Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov 301-286-7745 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
After emitting its first significant solar flares since June 2013 earlier in the week, the sun continued to produce mid-level and significant solar flares on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, 2013.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
To see how this event may impact Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.
One of the larger flares was classified as an X1.0 flare, which peaked at 10:03 p.m. EDT on Oct. 27. "X-class" denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. In the past, X-class flares of this intensity have caused degradation or blackouts of radio communications for about an hour.
Another large flare was classified as an M5.1 flare, which peaked at 12: 41 a.m. EDT on Oct. 28. Between Oct. 23, and the morning of Oct 28, there were three X-class flares and more than 15 additional M-class flares.
Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun is headed toward solar maximum conditions as part of its normal 11-year activity cycle. Humans have tracked this solar cycle continuously since it was discovered in 1843, and it is normal for there to be many flares a day during the sun's peak activity.
The recent solar flare activity has also been accompanied by several coronal mass ejections or CMEs, another solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground.
Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that five CMEs, traveling at different speeds, may join up into a single moving cloud of particles.
CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape. Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun nears solar maximum, large storms occur several times per year.
In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs of this size, speed and direction have usually been mild.
NASA and NOAA as well as the US Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) and others -- keep a constant watch on the sun to monitor for space weather effects such as geomagnetic storms. With advance notification many satellites, spacecraft and technologies can be protected from the worst effects.
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Sun continues to emit solar flares
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
28-Oct-2013
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Contact: Susan Hendrix Susan.m.hendrix@nasa.gov 301-286-7745 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
After emitting its first significant solar flares since June 2013 earlier in the week, the sun continued to produce mid-level and significant solar flares on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28, 2013.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.
To see how this event may impact Earth, please visit NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center at http://spaceweather.gov, the U.S. government's official source for space weather forecasts, alerts, watches and warnings.
One of the larger flares was classified as an X1.0 flare, which peaked at 10:03 p.m. EDT on Oct. 27. "X-class" denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. In the past, X-class flares of this intensity have caused degradation or blackouts of radio communications for about an hour.
Another large flare was classified as an M5.1 flare, which peaked at 12: 41 a.m. EDT on Oct. 28. Between Oct. 23, and the morning of Oct 28, there were three X-class flares and more than 15 additional M-class flares.
Increased numbers of flares are quite common at the moment, since the sun is headed toward solar maximum conditions as part of its normal 11-year activity cycle. Humans have tracked this solar cycle continuously since it was discovered in 1843, and it is normal for there to be many flares a day during the sun's peak activity.
The recent solar flare activity has also been accompanied by several coronal mass ejections or CMEs, another solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of particles into space that can reach Earth one to three days later. These particles cannot travel through the atmosphere to harm humans on Earth, but they can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground.
Experimental NASA research models, based on observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory and ESA/NASA's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory show that five CMEs, traveling at different speeds, may join up into a single moving cloud of particles.
CMEs can cause a space weather phenomenon called a geomagnetic storm, which occurs when they funnel energy into Earth's magnetic envelope, the magnetosphere, for an extended period of time. The CME's magnetic fields peel back the outermost layers of Earth's fields changing their very shape. Magnetic storms can degrade communication signals and cause unexpected electrical surges in power grids. They also can cause aurora. Storms are rare during solar minimum, but as the sun nears solar maximum, large storms occur several times per year.
In the past, geomagnetic storms caused by CMEs of this size, speed and direction have usually been mild.
NASA and NOAA as well as the US Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA) and others -- keep a constant watch on the sun to monitor for space weather effects such as geomagnetic storms. With advance notification many satellites, spacecraft and technologies can be protected from the worst effects.
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Microbiome in gut, mouth, and skin of low birth weight infants differentiate weeks after birth
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
29-Oct-2013
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Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology
Low birth weight infants are host to numerous microorganisms immediately after birth, and the microbiomes of their mouths and gut start out very similar but differentiate significantly by day 15 according to a study published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
"We could watch this differentiation over time. With each passing day, two body sites [mouth and distal gut] became more and more differentiated from each other. It was a consistent pattern," says co-author Elizabeth K. Costello of Stanford University.
Low birth weight infants, who are often born premature, are more susceptible than normal weight infants to invasive infections like necrotizing enterocolitis, a vulnerability that may be related to colonization by bacteria from their surroundings. Unlike adults, the microbiomes of the mouth, skin, and gut of infants right after birth are undifferentiated, says Costello - the microbiomes look more or less similar at each of these body sites. The researchers sought to find out how rapidly the communities of microbes in these different sites take on a character of their own.
They examined changes in the oral, skin, and gut microbiomes of low birth weight infants over the course of the first three weeks after birth and found that although the microbiomes in each of these sites start our markedly similar, they gradually differentiate over time. This is the first time the differentiation of the microbiota in multiple body sites in newborn infants has been investigated.
"We chose to look at premature infants between the ages of eight and 21 days old and asked, over this time period, what is going on with their oral, gut and skin communities," says Costello. The period from 8 to 21 days after birth marks a critical window for colonization of an infant, and it's also the period of onset for necrotizing enterocolitis (although none of the infants in this study were struck by the disease).
The researchers collected stool, saliva, and skin swabs from six low birth weight infants (five of whom were born premature) that ranged in weight from 1.65 - 4.01 lbs on postnatal days 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, and 21. They amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed the bacterial 16S genes present in each sample and compared them with analogous data from normal-birthweight (NBW) infants and healthy adults.
In the 8 - 21 day age range, there was a subtle but important divergence in the composition of the oral and gut microbiotas, a differentiation that was mostly driven by changes that evolved in the composition of the gut microbiome. The babies' microbiomes were also dominated at times by bacterial types that have been associated with newborn infections and necrotizing enterocolitis, including Staphylococcus, C. perfringens, P. aeruginosa and others.
The scientists also tracked the effects of antibiotic treatment in one infant in the study, noting the rise of a type of Mycoplasma in the mouth that has previously been associated with vaginal infection.
Of the three sites studied, neonatal skin was the most adult-like in its microbiota composition. And like healthy adults, the microbiota of the different body sites in the infants was apparently determined mostly by body site and by host individual.
Co-author Michael J. Morowitz of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine says understanding the vulnerability of preemies from a microbial perspective can provide insights into how to better care for them.
"Premature infants are unique because they can spend several months in the hospital, where they're exposed to virulent bacteria, they also frequently have antibiotics exposure, and they're dietary intake is irregular - sometimes they're not able to eat anything by mouth. That probably effects colonization patterns," says Morowitz. "The first step [in understanding this] is to define what's normal for these infants and what's abnormal."
Morowitz, Costello and others are currently working on a larger study to expand on these results. By studying more babies, and by monitoring microbial colonization of low birth weight infants who eventually develop infections like necrotizing enterocolitis, they hope to better pinpoint the microbial profile of babies who are susceptible to disease, hopefully leading to more informative surveillance techniques and better interventions to help keep these most vulnerable infants on the path to becoming healthy children and adults.
###
mBio is an open access online journal published by the American Society for Microbiology to make microbiology research broadly accessible. The focus of the journal is on rapid publication of cutting-edge research spanning the entire spectrum of microbiology and related fields. It can be found online at http://mbio.asm.org.
The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over 39,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Microbiome in gut, mouth, and skin of low birth weight infants differentiate weeks after birth
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
29-Oct-2013
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Contact: Jim Sliwa jsliwa@asmusa.org 202-942-9297 American Society for Microbiology
Low birth weight infants are host to numerous microorganisms immediately after birth, and the microbiomes of their mouths and gut start out very similar but differentiate significantly by day 15 according to a study published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
"We could watch this differentiation over time. With each passing day, two body sites [mouth and distal gut] became more and more differentiated from each other. It was a consistent pattern," says co-author Elizabeth K. Costello of Stanford University.
Low birth weight infants, who are often born premature, are more susceptible than normal weight infants to invasive infections like necrotizing enterocolitis, a vulnerability that may be related to colonization by bacteria from their surroundings. Unlike adults, the microbiomes of the mouth, skin, and gut of infants right after birth are undifferentiated, says Costello - the microbiomes look more or less similar at each of these body sites. The researchers sought to find out how rapidly the communities of microbes in these different sites take on a character of their own.
They examined changes in the oral, skin, and gut microbiomes of low birth weight infants over the course of the first three weeks after birth and found that although the microbiomes in each of these sites start our markedly similar, they gradually differentiate over time. This is the first time the differentiation of the microbiota in multiple body sites in newborn infants has been investigated.
"We chose to look at premature infants between the ages of eight and 21 days old and asked, over this time period, what is going on with their oral, gut and skin communities," says Costello. The period from 8 to 21 days after birth marks a critical window for colonization of an infant, and it's also the period of onset for necrotizing enterocolitis (although none of the infants in this study were struck by the disease).
The researchers collected stool, saliva, and skin swabs from six low birth weight infants (five of whom were born premature) that ranged in weight from 1.65 - 4.01 lbs on postnatal days 8, 10, 12, 15, 18, and 21. They amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed the bacterial 16S genes present in each sample and compared them with analogous data from normal-birthweight (NBW) infants and healthy adults.
In the 8 - 21 day age range, there was a subtle but important divergence in the composition of the oral and gut microbiotas, a differentiation that was mostly driven by changes that evolved in the composition of the gut microbiome. The babies' microbiomes were also dominated at times by bacterial types that have been associated with newborn infections and necrotizing enterocolitis, including Staphylococcus, C. perfringens, P. aeruginosa and others.
The scientists also tracked the effects of antibiotic treatment in one infant in the study, noting the rise of a type of Mycoplasma in the mouth that has previously been associated with vaginal infection.
Of the three sites studied, neonatal skin was the most adult-like in its microbiota composition. And like healthy adults, the microbiota of the different body sites in the infants was apparently determined mostly by body site and by host individual.
Co-author Michael J. Morowitz of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine says understanding the vulnerability of preemies from a microbial perspective can provide insights into how to better care for them.
"Premature infants are unique because they can spend several months in the hospital, where they're exposed to virulent bacteria, they also frequently have antibiotics exposure, and they're dietary intake is irregular - sometimes they're not able to eat anything by mouth. That probably effects colonization patterns," says Morowitz. "The first step [in understanding this] is to define what's normal for these infants and what's abnormal."
Morowitz, Costello and others are currently working on a larger study to expand on these results. By studying more babies, and by monitoring microbial colonization of low birth weight infants who eventually develop infections like necrotizing enterocolitis, they hope to better pinpoint the microbial profile of babies who are susceptible to disease, hopefully leading to more informative surveillance techniques and better interventions to help keep these most vulnerable infants on the path to becoming healthy children and adults.
###
mBio is an open access online journal published by the American Society for Microbiology to make microbiology research broadly accessible. The focus of the journal is on rapid publication of cutting-edge research spanning the entire spectrum of microbiology and related fields. It can be found online at http://mbio.asm.org.
The American Society for Microbiology is the largest single life science society, composed of over 39,000 scientists and health professionals. ASM's mission is to advance the microbiological sciences as a vehicle for understanding life processes and to apply and communicate this knowledge for the improvement of health and environmental and economic well-being worldwide.
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Share
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Dexter may have exited airwaves this year, but Showtime's serial about a serial killer cop is getting a new lease on life when all eight seasons arrive on Netflix. The first four seasons arrive on Halloween, with the following seasons expected by January 1st, 2014 -- two drops perfectly timed with ...
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Dexter may have exited airwaves this year, but Showtime's serial about a serial killer cop is getting a new lease on life when all eight seasons arrive on Netflix. The first four seasons arrive on Halloween, with the following seasons expected by January 1st, 2014 -- two drops perfectly timed with ...
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