India, June 29 -- For thousands of Indian students and graduates, the H-1B visa represents a ticket to the American dream - a stable technology job, a six-figure salary and, eventually, permanent residency in the United States.

But according to a new book by journalist and film critic Tanul Thakur, that dream often turns into a nightmare involving fake jobs, forged resumes, unpaid wages and threats of deportation.

In 'Wild Wild East: Exiled Americans, Enslaved Indians and the Systemic Abuse of the H-1B Visa Programme', Thakur shines a light on the world of so-called "desi consultancies" - small staffing firms, often run by South Asians, that operate on the fringes of America's technology labour market.

Commonly known in the industry as...