Infosys and Wipro, the country's two leading software companies, on Thursday denied the allegation that they have been abusing the United States' L-1 visa regulations.

"Infosys fully complies with visa statutes and regulations in letter and in spirit. Infosys adheres to this regulation and does not differentiate between H1-B and L-1 pay scales, although not legally mandated," Infosys CEO and managing director Nandan M Nilekani said in a statement.

A Wipro spokeswoman said the question of abusing any type of visa regulation did not arise and the company complied with the requirements of the visa laws.

"We believe that we are in total compliance with the requirements of visa laws. The question of their abuse does not arise," he told PTI.

The two companies were responding to the US labour organisations' allegation that Indian firms, namely Infosys, Wipro, TCS, had been acting as "bodyshops", sending Indian workers to the US through the L-1 system and then subcontracting them out to other businesses.

Infosys said L-1 visa regulations stipulated that only employees with specialised knowledge or holding managerial or executive positions could file an application.

"Most of our employees stay in the US for the duration of the project, which is typically one to two years, and return to the home country," Nilekani said.

Infosys continues to work with governments and consulates of the countries in which it operates in order to ensure that it fully understands and correctly interprets the immigration regulations, the statement said.

Michael W Gildea, executive director of the Department of Professional Employees, AFL-CIO, US's largest labour federation, addressing the House International Relations