All About Vancouver (Part 1)
As promised, I am writing a two-part post about the H1B visa issue and Vancouver Development Centre option. In this post, I will explain what is going on inside Microsoft. And in the next one, I’ll let you know what to expect going forward.
Up until now, I have had blind faith in the massive Microsoft legal team and the process of obtaining visas. In the 9 years that I have worked here, I have never personally seen someone’s offer revoked due to lack of sponsorship. So, when the H1B cap came this year and we had impacted new hires, it came as a surprise to me.
I had seen the news and read the facts beforehand, and therefore, knew the impending risk of the situation. But, based on my past history and naivety, I thought it would just all work out fine. However, soon there was a collective feeling of uncertainly and confusion inside Microsoft Staffing, as most of us (including me) said, “what are we going to do now?”.
In defense of Microsoft, several people had been working on this issue long before the cap was reached. But, now instead of it just being a possible threat - it was reality- and those teams went into action. However, the people on the forefront of the problem (the new hires and the recruiters) had the least information of all.
Why? Well, in this process we have several communication points. We have the U.S. government (who we were waiting on for rejection/acceptance notices) and we have our internal and external legal teams who had managed the process.
A lot of the Microsoft visa process is outsourced. So the communication about what was happening, was like a giant game of telephone: the U.S. government communicated to the external legal team - then the external legal team communicated to Microsoft legal - then Microsoft legal communicated to Staffing - and Staffing communicated to the individual recruiter - who, finally, communicated to the candidate. In some instances, we got the information quickly. But in other instances, it was very, very slow.
The trickiest part, is that we also weren’t sure what to say. We knew that without visa sponsorship we could not employ you in the U.S., but this brought a host of other questions: Can you work remotely? If your country of origin does not have a Microsoft office, can you work from home? What if we have already relocated you to the U.S., do we have to send you back? Do we let individual teams determine how to handle this, or will we have a unilateral decision from Microsoft? And, on and on…
Fairly quickly, we mobilized on Vancouver. Recruiters knew all along this was an option, but we did not mention this until it was final. In the last few weeks, I have questioned if that was the right decision. I have settled on “yes”. There was so much uncertainty, that it would have been unfair to mention this possiblity and give some people false hope, if we were unable to deliver. So, we gave a fairly bland and frustrating answer: "we are evaluating options, but currently, you do not have valid work sponsorship”.
I feel badly the way this has happened, but I struggle on how it could have gone differently. While I know regular communication would have helped - how helpful is it if you don’t have any answers? I’m not sure.
But regardless, I now have an offer for you. If you are someone who accepted a Microsoft offer, but did not receive an H1B visa, you can email me: jennah-at-microsoft-dot-com with your full name and your questions, and I will answer you personally. I will also email you my phone number if you prefer to talk about it by phone.
If you are not a presently impacted H1B candidate (someone who accepted an offer, but did not get a visa), I won’t reply. So, please no trickery.
In my next post, I will cover what has happened between our announcement and now, and what you can expect going forward.
-Jenna
18 Comments
said:
IMHO, I think that the HR team has done a good job, from what I have seen, in keeping candidates up to speed, and appreciate the wilingness of the staff to take on the extra effort to improve communications with employees outside the US. It will be interesting to read your follow-up and read what impacted employees have to say on the subject.
Even if you don't have answers, it's good to know that people are working on a solution... and more importantly, that you communicate with those impacted keeping them up-to-date in the process.
said:
IMHO, I think that the HR team has done a good job, from what I have seen, in keeping candidates up to speed, and appreciate the willingness of the staff to take on the extra effort to improve communications with employees outside the US. It will be interesting to read your follow-up and read what impacted employees have to say on the subject.
Even if you don't have answers, it's good to know that people are working on a solution... and more importantly, that you communicate with those impacted keeping them up-to-date in the process.
Rod said:
If candidates were able to work in their home country, could they not do so for 12 months and then be moved to the US on an L-1 Visa?
This could still be an option for developers in Vancouver. After 12 months in Vancouver working for Microsoft they are eligible for L-1 Visas to continue working for Microsoft.
hmm said:
Good post.. straight fomr the heart..
mthree: no.. HR has not done their job. the problem is that recruiters hold all the cards. ther eis *nothing* a candidate can do if a recruiter acts unprofessional. there should be some redressal machanism .. maybe all candidates huold be given their recruiters managers emails so they can cc emails to them too?
the system as it stands, is reliant entirely on the good will of the recruiter.
so some recruiters were atrocious - they didnt even ask for the documents for h1b in time! they dont reply to emails for *months* and can never be contacted by phone.
[;us there are 7 different mailing lists mshires<number> .. no one knows whom to contatc if your recruiter does not respond.. everyone just redirects you to the recruiter :S
Daniel Amaral said:
This post is a beautiful example of company transparency through blogging. I'm quite sure that there are a lot of people who will be relieved after reading it. Also, volunteering to personally answer questions from all candidates who got their H1B denied is a very nice and reassuring atitude, so congratulations Microsoft and JobsBlog!
And also congrats to those who will be relocated to the Vancouver offices, I'm sure most of you were expecting much worse news (like a withdraw of you proposals).
DiegoV said:
Jenna,
I got lucky with the visa lottery, but my empathy is with those that are still wondering what will happen to their dream jobs.
Back in April when I learned that my visa was in question because of the H1-B crisis, I felt miserable.
I pictured a few things Microsoft could do: From giving one year contracts with local Microsoft offices or major partners like Avanade, to distributing T-shirts with the words "Microsoft made me an offer, but I could not get my visa. Wouldn’t you make me an offer too?" (this one as a last resort, off course).
Of all the ideas that occurred to me, the wildest was redirecting the recruits to a new development center in a country willing to accept the investment and a big number of qualified workers. Only now I realize that it was not a crazy fantasy but a decision that made perfect sense for everyone, and in the long run. I have to say that I am very much delighted! Congratulations!
I also have to say that my recruiter and the legal firm that helped with my case all have been very helpful.
Thanks.
Mohammed said:
Good reading. Informative and concise. I enjoyed reading this material. Thanks.
German said:
It is such a relief to hear that it is not over yet. However, we are all still waiting on chances. The fact is that nothing is certain, not even an excellent interview for the position of an SDE. If you come accross something thats certain except death and the supernatural transcendents, then please do tell me.
Noticias externas said:
Wow, all of you are keeping me busy! My email is full of questions about Vancouver. As promised , this
Ens said:
People born in the US get jobs with MS all the time. They'd probably prefer it; they get the same starting salary but Microsoft doesn't have to jump through hoops to obtain a visa for them. However, not just anyone born in the US can get a job with MS.
Canadian User Experience said:
As Qixing mentioned in a previous post , Microsoft is opening up a Development Centre in Vancouver. This
NS Valli Gali said:
How to apply jobs in Microsoft, Vancouver, Canada
Technical Careers @ Microsoft said:
There is a dark side to being transparent... Where have I been? I have been swallowed up by the endless
Technical Careers @ Microsoft said:
Hi, my name is Anne Cheng and I’ve been with MS Staffing for the past six years…and I’m pretty excited
Microsoft's JobsBlog said:
Wow, all of you are keeping me busy! My email is full of questions about Vancouver. As promised , this
Zebra said:
Thanks for your post. Could you also address the issue for new grads who can use their OPT for their first year? My start date got pushed back, and it's not just my own problem, because my future roommates need to sign the lease for our new apartment. I really need to know whether or not I will be working in the US in my first year.
Some HR has done a good job. Some hasn't. I actually have problems with the Legal team. A person in the Legal team (that person is pretty big in that org, too!) didn't even read my email thoroughly and just replied it based on several assumptions she made THAT DID NOT ANSWER MY QUESTIONS AT ALL. Worse, she caused more confusions for other HR staff. I'm glad I don't have to deal with them for now.
Please don't forget us new grads with OPT.
WEB said:
Can someone born in the U.S. get a job with MS?
Noticias externas said:
As Qixing mentioned in a previous post , Microsoft is opening up a Development Centre in Vancouver. This