Enron Secrets Part 2
Enron Secrets Part 2
Date: Sunday, July 16, 2006 9:37 PM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1520 -- 07/16/2006 >>>>>
I haven't published a newsletter for the past several days because I have
been so busy grieving over the death of Kenneth Lay. My sadness is made
worse by the fact that he didn't have to spend the rest of his life rotting
in jail. What better way to commemorate his death than to continue the
series on the Enron emails?
I won't spend time discussing the technical details concerning the Enron
email database because that's covered extensively in Part 1 of this series,
which you can view in the archive.
The database used for this newsletter is online at:
http://www.enronemail.com/
The story below is about Anshuman Shrivastava. I chose this case because
it's a classic example of how the L-1 visa works.
Specific references to the emails below are denoted in parenthesis: example
(#)
By January 11, 2001, Enron decided to transfer Anshuman from their
subsidiary in India to Houston, Texas (#1). They decided to bring Anshuman
in for a 6 month trial period and then permanently if they needed to keep
him in Houston.
Vince Kaminski stated that the Indian subsidiary wasn't happy about letting
Anshuman come to the U.S. Enron India felt they were short handed and
therefore couldn't afford to send one of their managers to the U.S. As we
all know, India has a massive shortage of workers (LOL!). Houston didn't
care about the problems in India so they ignored the concerns and started
the visa process.
Enron's HR department decided to bring Anshuman to the U.S. with an L-1
visa because it was easy to do. Since Anshuman had been at Enron for 3
years in India, he qualified under the L-1 regulation that requires that
the visa applicant must have worked at the foreign subsidiary for at least
one year.
It's very important to note that Enron used the "blanket L-1" to get a visa
for Anshuman (#2). "Blanket L-1" enables a petitioning multinational
corporation to transfer managers, executives, and specialized-knowledge
professionals to the U.S. on work assignments under a single, "blanket"
petition. Thus, it eliminates the need to separately petition for each
individual whom the company desires to bring to the U.S. Blanket L-1s allow
employers to fast-track the visa process. Companies qualify for blanket
L-1s if the immigration service (which was the INS at that time) put the
company on a white list of employers that have exhibited exemplary
corporate behavior when hiring foreign labor.
The fact that Enron qualified for blanket L-1s shows how easily corruptible
the system is, and how vast the loopholes are.
Anshuman is told to fill out all the necessary paperwork and to state
whether he has dependent family members(#3). If he had family members he
would be allowed to bring them to the U.S. with L-2 visas.
By January 25, 2001, which is just two weeks after Enron decided to get an
L-1 visa for Anshuman, the India office was complaining about losing
Anshuman (#4) - but their complaints fell on deaf ears. Be sure to read #5
because it's quite entertaining to listen to the inter-office and
international in-fighting over whether he should stay in India or come to
Houston. Neil McGregor tries to calm everyone by saying that Anshuman will
only come to Houston for a month but he is either lying or is unaware that
others in Houston have no intention of letting Anshuman go back to India.
QUESTION TO PONDER: Considering all the brouhaha, why didn't Enron just
hire an American and let Anshuman stay in India?
Enron HR estimated that it would take 3-4 weeks for Anshuman to arrive in
Houston (#6). Probably the biggest delay was because Anshuman had to make
an appointment with the consulate to get his visa stamped. The quick
turnaround is due to the fast-track blanket L-1 process. It's worth noting
that most employers whine that it takes entirely too long to get visas for
foreign workers.
HR got a little impatient with Anshuman because he wasn't getting his
paperwork done fast enough (#7). Margaret Daffin sternly told Anshuman that
no paperwork means no visa. Anshuman's excuse was that he was too busy
doing important business in Mumbai.
Apparently there was discussion about whether to bring Anshuman on a B-1
visa until he got the L-1 (#8). That could cut the delay for his arrival in
Houston from several weeks to several days. They decided that wouldn't work
since B visas are only supposed to be used for meetings or training. Unlike
many employers, at least Enron followed the rules - but they had no problem
exploiting the legal loopholes. Keep this in mind next time someone says
that all we need to do is to enforce the rules!
There was some confusion about what HR and the legal department would put
on the visa application for Anshuman's job description (#10). It appears
that they were bringing him to the U.S. first, and then figuring out what
he would actually be doing once he got here. Their actions sure didn't seem
to be those of a company who just couldn't find Americans to do the job
since they didn't know what the job was going to be!
The last we hear from Anshuman is that he was going to attend Rice
University (#11). On April 2, 2001 he was asking Vince Kaminski at Enron
for a recommendation to the Jesse Jones Business School. Ironically
Anshuman had to prod Kaminski to do the paperwork in much the same way HR
had to prod Anshuman to expedite the visa documents.
The Enron emails don't conclusively show whether Anshuman stayed in the
U.S. but considering Enron's intent to transfer him permanently he probably
got a Green Card. In addition to all the other loopholes, L-1 has a
fast-track provision that allows managers and executives to get an
employment based Green Card. Once here on an L-1, they don't have to go
through the Labor Certification process, which is usually the first step
required for those seeking green cards through employment. The stated
purpose of the Labor Certification procedure is to show that there are no
qualified American workers available. Anshuman would have qualified for the
fast-track category called "priority workers" so Enron wouldn't need to
justify why they chose him instead of a U.S. citizen.
***** IN CONCLUSION *****
Let's all thank Kenneth Lay, because if it wasn't for him and all the other
thieves at Enron, we would never have access to all of these great emails.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
----- Email #1 -----
Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 00:12:00 -0800 (PST)
Molly,
Sandeep Kohli called last night. We decided to transfer Anshuman for the
6-month trial period and then extend his assignment to a permanent
employment if necessary. For Sandeep Kohli it's a permanent transfer,
effective immediately.
Some local opposition to poaching of good people.
Vince
----- Email #2 -----
Margaret Daffin
01/22/2001 12:18 PM
cc: Molly Magee/HOU/ECT@ECT, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT, Jane
Allen/HOU/ECT@ECT, Timothy Callahan/NA/Enron@Enron, Jeffrey A
Shankman/HOU/ECT@ECT
Ranendra: I have been asked to begin the visa process for the above
individual, located in India.
I believe Mr. Shrivastava has been working as Assistant Manager with Enron
since May 10, 1998. If this is correct, we will be able to bring him into
the US on an L1 intracompany visa under the Blanklet L for Enron.
Can you please let me have an email address for him so that I can send him
the required visa questionnaire to begin the process.
Many thanks
Margaret
713-345-5083
----- Email #3 -----
Date: Tue, 23 Jan 2001 03:01:00 -0800 (PST)
Anshuman: I have been asked to contact you regarding your possible move to
Houston, Texas. In order that I may begin the process of getting you an L1
immigration visa, I will need you to complete the attached visa
questionnaire and return it to me with copies of the following documents:
a copy of all pages of your passport, even if blank
copies of all previous US visas issued
an updated resume, showing months and years
copies of all Diplomas and transcripts received
if you have dependent family members coming to the States with you, copies
of
their passports
Please send to my attention, via Fedex to:
Enron Corp.
3 Allen Center, 3AC2026A
333 Clay Street
Houston, TX 77002
Please call me with any questions you may have at 713-345-5083.
----- Email #4 -----
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 02:19:00 -0800 (PST)
Thanks for the clarification Vince I appreciate it. We have a significant
resource problem here in India, given we have a renegotiation about fall in
our laps. Anshuman is one of our key analysts and we are very proud of his
abilities and future potential for Enron. Once we have Dabhol off the "life
support system" we could look at a longer assignment. As far as the present
one month assignment is concerned, I would rather go for an early start say
5th Feb till 5th March. Is this convenient to you and Jeff.
Neil
----- Email #5 -----
Vince J Kaminski@ECT
01/24/2001 10:41 PM
cc: Molly Magee/HOU/ECT@ECT, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT, Sandeep
Kohli@Enron
Neil,
I would like to apologize for the confusion regarding Anshuman. We have
floated a number of possible scenarios regarding his trip to Houston and
there was a lot of confusion regarding the terms (given that I was talking
to Sandeep every few days).
Currently, we expect Anshuman to come to Houston for one month to work on
the DPC project (at Jeff Shankman's request). The lawyers advised me that
we need an L1 visa for him, irrespective of the duration of his stay.
Sorry for the confusion.
Vincent Kaminski
Managing Director - Research
Enron Corp.
1400 Smith Street
Room EB1962
Houston, TX 77002-7361
Phone: (713) 853 3848
Fax : (713) 646 2503
E-mail: vkamins@enron.com
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 03:09:00 -0800 (PST)
Vince: I don't think that you could have summarized the situation any
better!!! I will be happy to respond to Neil as you suggested.
Thanks,
Molly
Vince J Kaminski
01/24/2001 11:02 AM
cc: Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT
Molly,
Thanks for the update. Two points.
Please, let Neil McGregor know that many possible proposals were floated
with regard to Anshuman and there was some noise in the system. We need L1
visa anyway and we decided to go ahead an arrange it. I shall also write to
him and explain the confusion.
Also, if I have the choice between upsetting Neil or Jeffs (Shankman and
Skilling), I shall choose Neil.
Vince
Enron North America Corp.
cc:
Vince: Apparently Neil McGregor became upset when he received Margaret
Daffin's email. He is saying, however, that Anshuman will only be in
Houston for one month, and you had mentioned six months when we spoke
earlier. It really doesn't make any difference since he will need to get
an
L1 visa under either circumstance, but I thought you might want to see his
email.
Molly
---------------------- Forwarded by Molly Magee/HOU/ECT on 01/24/2001 10:09
AM ---------------------------
Margaret Daffin
01/24/2001 09:57 AM
cc:
Molly: per our conversation today. Please let me know the status so that
I
can proceed with the visa process.
Thanks
Margaret
---------------------- Forwarded by Margaret Daffin/HOU/ECT on 01/24/2001
09:56 AM ---------------------------
Neil McGregor@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
01/24/2001 05:18 AM
cc: Wade Cline/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
Anshuman is not moving or immigrating to the US. We are allowing him to
work
for a 1month assignment in the US with Enron. Please carry out the
necessary
approvals and visa's on this basis.
Neil McGregor
CEO Dabhol Power
Margaret Daffin@ECT
01/23/2001 10:31 PM
cc: Molly Magee/HOU/ECT@ECT, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT, Jane
Allen/HOU/ECT@ECT, Timothy Callahan/NA/Enron@Enron, Ranendra
Sengupta/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENt, Wade
Cline/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Neil
McGregor/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ECT, Harsimran
Singh/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
Anshuman: I have been asked to contact you regarding your possible move to
Houston, Texas. In order that I may begin the process of getting you an L1
immigration visa, I will need you to complete the attached visa
questionnaire
and return it to me with copies of the following documents:
a copy of all pages of your passport, even if blank
copies of all previous US visas issued
an updated resume, showing months and years
copies of all Diplomas and transcripts received
if you have dependent family members coming to the States with you, copies
of
their passports
Please send to my attention, via Fedex to:
Enron Corp.
3 Allen Center, 3AC2026A
333 Clay Street
Houston, TX 77002
Please call me with any questions you may have at 713-345-5083.
----- Email #6 -----
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 01:50:00 -0800 (PST)
Molly: for your information, I received this reply from Anshuman today.
As I mentioned in my voicemail to you today after seeing the note from Neil
McGregor, there is no possible way that Anshuman could be in the US to work
on February 5th. Until I receive all of his documents, and the necessary
information from you regarding his position in the US, I do not have the
information to send to the attorneys for the visa application.
Once they receive the paperwork, they will need to prepare the documents in
triplicate, and send to me. At this stage, I will send the documents to
Anshuman in India and he will need to make an appointment at the US
Consulate in order to have the L1 visa stamped into his passport. He will
not be able to come to the States to work without this visa in his
passport! All of this could take approx. 3-4 weeks to accomplish. I think
March would be a more realistic timeframe!
Please let me have your thoughts.
Thanks
Margaret
---------------------- Forwarded by Margaret Daffin/HOU/ECT on 01/25/2001
09:45 AM ---------------------------
Anshuman Srivastav @ ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
01/25/2001 12:35:53 AM
cc: Sandeep Kohli/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Harsimran
Singh/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
Hi Margaret,
Apologies for not getting in touch earlier. I am unfortunately out of
Mumbai and will be back only on Sunday. Will send you all the documents on
Monday morning. They will reach you by latest Wednesday. Appreciate the
help!!
Thanks!
Regards,
Anshuman
----- Email #7 -----
Margaret Daffin@ECT
01/24/2001 10:57 PM
cc: Molly Magee/HOU/ECT@ECT, Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT, Jane
Allen/HOU/ECT@ECT, Timothy Callahan/NA/Enron@Enron, Ranendra
Sengupta/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENt, Wade
Cline/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT, Neil
McGregor/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ECT, Harsimran
Singh/ENRON_DEVELOPMENT@ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
Anshuman: please go ahead and complete the visa questionnaire and send the
required documents so that I can proceed with your working visa for the US.
Regardless of the length of time you will be in the US, you will still
need the L1 visa in order to work here.
Many thanks
Margaret
----- Email #8 -----
Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 07:20:00 -0800 (PST)
Sandeep: Vince has asked me to coordinate with Margaret Daffin in our
international group to ensure that we acquire an L1 visa for Anshuman.
This visa has to be in place before he will be able to work in the United
States in any capacity. (Anshuman cannot work in the US on a B-1 visa--he
can only come here for business meetings or training.) There are still
several items remaining to be completed for the L-1 process. The first is a
fairly detailed job description for Anshuman. Secondly, we will need to
know whether or not he will either be in a managerial position or whether
he will be managing a project while he is here in Houston. Vince thought
that you would be best able to provide this information to us, and we would
really
appreciate anything you can do to help us expedite this process.
If you have any questions, please give me a call at x34804. Thank you for
your help.
Molly Magee
----- Email #9 -----
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 05:34:00 -0800 (PST)
Sandeep,
Please, help Margaret with L1 for Anshuman.
Vince
---------------------- Forwarded by Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT on 02/15/2001
01:33 PM ---------------------------
Margaret Daffin
02/15/2001 11:47 AM
cc: Vince J Kaminski/HOU/ECT@ECT, Jane Allen/HOU/ECT@ECT
Molly: I am meeting with Anshuman at 2:30 today and he will give me his
documents.
However, I still need everything from you, as listed in my emails of
January 22 and February 13. Please let me have this information asap so
that I can send the package to our attorneys for processing.
Thanks
Margaret
----- Email #10 -----
Enron North America Corp.
cc:
I definitely think you should continue to "prod" Anshuman for his
documents, and I will follow up with Sandeep for the job description.
Thanks again for your help,
Molly
Margaret Daffin
02/13/2001 09:38 AM
cc:
Molly: Sorry, but I don't have any job description templates as the job
description always comes from the HR recruiter/representative.
Do you want me to go ahead and send another email to Anshuman to get his
documents so that I can proceed with the visa application? To date, I have
not heard anything from him.
Please advise
Thanks
Margaret
Enron North America Corp.
cc:
I spoke today to Sandeep Kohli about Anshuman's job description, and he
said that he would be happy to start on it right away (finally!). Anyway,
he then asked if we had any job description templates for visa
applications, and I told him that I would check with you to see. Can you
help him with anything?
Molly
----- Email #11 -----
University
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 10:38:00 -0700 (PDT)
Anshuman,
The recommendation has been taken care of.
Vince
Anshuman Srivastav @ ENRON_DEVELOPMENT
04/02/2001 07:59:05 PM
cc:
Hi Vince,
Hope this mail finds you well. Sorry to be bothering you with this, but my
application to Rice is due by April 6,2001 and I need to submit all
application material including the recommendations. Request you to kindly
fill in the reco form and have Shirley send the same directly to Rice with
a cover indicating that the same is for me.
I understand that you have a very busy schedule, but would appreciate if
you could fill in this form by the deadline and send the same to the
B-School directly.
I continue to relish the experiences from my visit with the research group
and look forward to working with the group again.
Regards,
Anshuman
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