Indian-origin tech influencer's guide to US citizenship sparks outrage over 'scientific fraud' tactics

Indian-origin tech influencer, former Google engineer and an investor in US, Debarghya (Deedy) Das has come under fire for his guide to US citizenship in which he detailed how he got scholarly articles written by a firm in his name.

Indian-origin tech influencer and former Google engineer, Debarghya (Deedy) Das, has faced criticism over his guide to US citizenship. 

Das who is also an investor in the US, detailed in his blog how he secured scholarly articles in his name through a firm. Although the blog was published some time ago, it gained significant attention after several users on X (formerly Twitter) condemned Das for 'suggesting scientific fraud' as a means to achieve American citizenship.

The blog has since been revised in response to the backlash.

One post criticizing Das argued, "One of America's newest greencard holders, @deedydas is totally amoral about: 1. scientific literature and the pursuit of truth 2. the quality of immigration to the US. I think Americans would be right at this point to simply end all immigration from India & demand repatriation of most legal aliens."

In his blog, Das described his journey to obtain an EB-1A visa as an Indian engineer after an initial denial. He mentioned that many Indians face a lengthy wait for legal immigration to the US, noting that he himself was born in 1992 and came to the US at age 3, obtaining a green card in 2000. After completing his schooling in India, he returned to the US in 2011, although his permanent residency was not active during this period.

In response to the criticism, Das issued a clarification that the controversial advice was not his own but was suggested by his previous immigration law firm. He emphasized that his goal was to assist those struggling with immigration delays and clarified that his blog did not advocate for a firm writing articles on behalf of applicants but rather described a process where firms interview, draft, and assist in publishing articles, a practice that has been in place for over 30 years with corporate clients.