U.S.  efforts to reprogram systems for the year 2000 date change are
dependent on highly-skilled Indian programmers.  In the United States,
companies facing a tight labor market are turning to Indian computer
programmers, who not only provide much-needed skilled manpower but also
are 35 to 50 percent cheaper than their American counterparts.  These
workers may be hired directly by American companies, but are also
performing a great deal of work on a sub-contractor basis, either
in-house or remotely from India. 

The U.S.  Congress recently passed a bill to increase the number of
special "H-1B" visas so that even more foreign high-tech workers may
enter the country, allowing 115,000 more workers over the next four
years.  More than 35 percent of Silicon Valley programmers and computer
engineers are foreign-born. 

Indian companies project cumulative Y2K earnings in the $60-$100 billion
range.  India's National Association of Software and Service Companies
predicts that current contracts alone will require 125,000 additional
programmers, only 30,000 of which are estimated to be available in
India.  Furthermore, it is possible that Indian companies may
subcontract Y2K-related work to programmers in other countries, such as
China, the Philippines, South Africa, and Thailand, further diluting any
oversight by U.S.  companies.  Ironically, a byproduct of India's
booming Y2K industry is the possibility that India's own Y2K work will
be left undone as companies choose more lucrative offshore work.