In the heated immigration debate, America’s temporary visa program for highly skilled workers often is portrayed as a crucial piston in the nation’s economy.

President Barack Obama’s executive actions make it easier for work visa holders to switch jobs and for the Department of Labor to crack down on employers that mistreat skilled immigrant employees.

Despite government efforts to stamp out abuses in America’s visa program for highly skilled workers, unscrupulous job brokers continue to illegally sell visas – sometimes connected to jobs that don’t exist.

California’s high-tech industry is famous for friendly methods for holding on to talented workers. But it also has become a hub for less generous retention practices: freezing employees in place and depressing wages by pushing legal boundaries.

Here’s a breakdown of the main tactics manipulative job brokers use to treat immigrant tech workers like indentured servants.

Porous federal oversight has allowed labor brokers to financially exploit Indian tech workers with little fear of detection. And even those that are caught can continue to survive and thrive – including on taxpayers’ dime.

This graphic novel tells the true story of an Indian tech worker who has big dreams of a job in the U.S. but finds himself under the thumb of a shady labor broker.