After Indian techie Naveen Tummala got into a viral spat with a Texas reporter, a major row broke out over whether H-1B visas can help his spouse start a business.
indian technician Naveen Tumala Texas journalist Sara Gonzales became the focus of a major feud after she visited his Golconda Xpress food truck in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and confronted him, saying he couldn’t operate a food truck while on an H-1B visa sponsored by Flexera Global. Tumala countered that he neither owned the truck nor worked there – the food business belonged to his wife and he was just helping her after get off work. The wife was not at the food truck, and Gonzalez claimed that on some permit documents, Tumala claimed to be the owner of the food truck. After the video went viral, a major brawl erupted on social media after Tumala retorted to Gonzalez, saying he was well aware of his H-1B regulations and that Gonzalez could do whatever he wanted. The Indian-American community lashed out at Gonzales and defended Tumala. The Indian-American community said H-1B visa holders cannot collect fees from any other source but they can help their spouse start a small business. Sidharth, co-founder of the Indian American Advocacy Council, said it is not illegal for H-1B holders to be indirectly involved in business activities, but Sara Gonzales acted in the video as if Tumala was a criminal/ “Let me be clear – this man works a full-time tech job, pays taxes, and his wife runs a small business that serves the local community and potentially employs Americans. His wife runs the business. He helps out from 9 to 5. He is not paid. Is there a technical gray area in immigration law regarding helping a spouse’s business? Yes. Immigration attorneys can argue where the line is,” Sidharth wrote.“But this is an immigrant family creating jobs, serving their neighbors, contributing to the local economy. This is the American dream in action. Instead of recognizing that, why show up with cameras and turn a hard-working family into anger bait,” Sidharth added.
“If the wife needs help, she can hire an American worker”
Indian-origin Republican Rohit Joy dismissed Sidharth’s defense and said there was no gray area and it was illegal. “This is illegal. If his wife needed help running her food truck, she could hire a U.S. worker. And, while the H-4 EAD may have allowed his wife to operate her food truck business, it was an illegal program created without congressional authorization,” Joy wrote.Another wrote: “He can also operate a food truck under an LLC as long as he doesn’t draw any wages from it. The H1B restriction is about collecting wages. If he doesn’t collect wages, there’s not much to see here. He can donate his labor to family, friends or even strangers.”
