Benched me on day 1, threatened me with ICE: Indian H-1B worker sues Texas company run by Indian boss

An Indian H-1B worker has filed a lawsuit against a Texas company and its Indian boss, accusing him of trafficking, servitude and forced labor. Rishikesh Raj Meesala got a job in Sai Jitender Kalagra’s company but Kalagra insisted that Raj paid his own salary and got nothing from the company. According to the lawsuit, Raj came to the US legally on an F-1 visa, completed his Master’s degree in December 2023 and started his Optional Practical Training.In March 2024, Sai Jitendra recruited Rishi for an H-1B role and promised him lawful employment. In June 2024, Rishi’s H-1B was selected and his first day in the company was October 1, 2024.In his lawsuit, Rishi said he was placed on the “bench,” and the company told him that they would not pay him while he was on the bench. Instead, he would have to pay the company to maintain his payroll, without which Rishi would not have his legal immigration status.“Progress and Kalagara know that USCIS requires regular pay rolls to be run for any extension or transfer H-1B application. Thus, by threatening to forgo payroll, Progress and Kalagara were implicitly threatening Rishi with his immigration status. If they didn’t run Rishi’s payroll, Rishi would not be able to maintain, extend, or transfer his H-1B,” the lawsuit said adding that Rishi delivered approximately $8,800 in cash to Progress’s Plano office “under threat of losing his immigration status”.

‘We will turn you over to ICE’

Rishi was not paid for October and November 2024. He got a salary in December, 2024 and January 2025. Again from February 2025 to the present (the time when the lawsuit was filed), Rishi was denied his salary. The company demanded cash payments of over $10,700 from Rishi for “filing fees, random expenses, and costs associated with the immigration process”. They threatened to withdraw Rishi’s H-1B unless he completed those payments. The lawsuit said Progress and Kalagara threatened Rishi to turn to ICE.In November 2025, the company accessed Rishi’s Gmail account to check if he was consulting an attorney to move against the company, the lawsuit said. Kalagara told Rishi’s father that if Rishi complained he would let ICE deal with it.The lawsuit said the company and its owner owe Rishi at least $97,248.94 in unpaid wages and coerced payments and Rishi also suffered severe mental anguish and panic attacks.The company did not comment on the lawsuit.

What is benching in IT?

Benching is a common term in the IT industry, which means an employee does not have an ongoing project but is still employed by the company. This has to be paid, and unpaid benching violates US labor laws.