"In his book Bangalore Tiger, BusinessWeek writer Steve Hamm recounts how a shortage of temporary worker visas all but crippled the attempts of Indian outsourcer Wipro to win a bigger chunk of business at General Motors after 9/11. Last week, I dined with Wipro CEO Azim Premji. He told me that things haven't changed much.

Over entrees at a modest bistro in midtown Manhattan, Premji was arguing that the U.S. economy needs an influx of foreign tech workers now more than ever. "Attrition levels in New York are higher than in India," said Premji, who, despite his status as one of India's richest men, ordered the meatloaf (as did I. Hey, if it's good enough for him...).

Premji believes that a shortage of U.S. tech workers, combined with the fact that the H-1B program is currently capped at 65,000 visas, is creating headaches for both Indian outsourcers and their customers--which have come to include virtually all major U.S. corporations. "There's not enough qualified labor to go around," said Premji, between bites.

Outsourcers perform most of their work from remote, low-cost locations, but nonetheless need some highly skilled employees to work on-site at customer premises in the U.S."