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Indian worker sues Texas CEO for H-1B extortion
The lawsuit alleges the worker was “benched” and threatened with immigration consequences if he refused to make payments.
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Malvika Choudhary - Tue, 16, Jun 2026
- 18:47 EDT
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Representative Image / Canva
An Indian H-1B worker filed a lawsuit against a Texas-based technology consulting company and its Indian-origin CEO, alleging he was coerced into making payments to maintain his employment in the United States.
Rishikesh Raj Meesala filed the lawsuit against Progress Solutions Inc. and its CEO, Sai Jitender Kalagara, accusing them of labor trafficking, forced labor, document servitude, wage violations, and immigration-related coercion. The allegations have not been proven in court.
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According to the complaint, Meesala arrived in the United States on an F-1 student visa, completed his master's degree in December 2023, and later secured H-1B sponsorship through the company. The lawsuit says Kalagara recruited him in March 2024 and promised lawful employment and a pathway to long-term immigration opportunities in the United States.
Meesala's H-1B petition was selected in the annual lottery, and he began work on Oct. 1, 2024. However, the lawsuit alleges that he was immediately placed on the "bench," an industry term for employees who are not assigned to client projects.
The complaint states that although H-1B employers are generally required to pay workers even during non-productive periods, Meesala was allegedly told he would not receive a salary while on the bench and instead had to pay the company to continue processing payroll records needed to preserve his legal status.
"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 states.
According to the filing, Meesala paid approximately $8,800 in cash to the company's Plano, Texas, office after being threatened with the loss of his visa status. The lawsuit also alleges that the company demanded more than $10,700 in additional payments for filing fees, expenses, and immigration-related costs while threatening to withdraw his H-1B sponsorship if the payments were not made.
Accordion to the lawsuit, Meesala was not paid for October and November 2024, received wages only in December 2024 and January 2025, and was again denied salary from February 2025 onward.
Meesala further alleges that company officials threatened to report Meesala to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if he challenged the demands or sought alternative employment. It also claims that Kalagara warned Meesala's father that ICE would become involved if his son pursued complaints against the company.
According to the lawsuit, company representatives also accessed Meesala's Gmail account in November 2025 to determine whether he was consulting an attorney.
Banias Law, the immigration law firm representing Meesala, said the defendants owe him at least $97,248.94 in unpaid wages and allegedly coerced payments. Meesala also seeks damages for emotional distress, alleging that the conduct caused severe mental anguish and panic attacks.
Court records show the case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.
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