H1B Visas and Microsoft Recruiting.
"So Does Microsoft sponsor H1B visas!?" Aaah - how many times have I heard that question asked of me.
Jenna Adorno (the JobsBlog headhoncho) now that Gretchen is out doing her thang at JobSyntax has a small little write up on this issue .. and for everything else there is mastercard she implies.
Being an immigrant myself let me share some of the information I have so far, given that I have been through this process in once before in a different country and started this with another company in the US.
Assertion: If I had to bet my immigration status and therefore my career on any company, I would pick Microsoft hands down. Why? Following are my five reasons
a) The Immigration status and deadlines that are current now are being lobbyed strong at DC by most companies who are worth their salt (the ones that know that great talent is not ethnicity or nationality bound).
b) Microsoft is defnitely on the top of the list of the loudest voices in that lobbying fact.
c) SteveB and BillG included have been said to have made trips to DC to lobby for this - so there is strong support from the very-top for our employees who need visas and green cards. As an immigrant I get a sounder sleep every night knowing this.
d) The lawyers here are awesome. This is NOT lipservice, but they actually know of yahoogroups and msn groups of "informal societies" that share information that is worthy of knowing. They can actually talk about issues that in other firms I have seen the immigrants know but the lawyers have no clue about. And yes - they do have time for you and dont charge you by the hr - the company takes care of that for you.
e) Microsoft has its offices all over the world. So in other words if you are really good and worth your mettle - there are workarounds to get you working for MS. Maybe working at Redmond might take a while, but hey field-experience is valuable before you move to redmond. Brightside to everything :). So if you have a family and are planning on a move there are always great negotiation levers, the more talented/important you are, the better the leverage (no Duh!)
All this positive stories aside - have I heard of any failed stories so far? Ofcourse, here is one.
My friend from Philly He is Ukranian and I know is a super-well qualified MS FTE waiting to happen. He did get a Hire at Microsoft at Redmond but we couldnt proceed with his employment because of visa complications. The lawyers did realize this before he was asked to move and couldnt proceed with his offer. The truth is if we couldnt straighten his visa issues for him, it would take a super-human effort to do that by any other firms. And usually when you do get an offer - the lawyers do evaluate your chances of getting your visa and residenship.
And usually they are on the mark with their evaluation. So as much as I cringe in saying this its true for our MS folks - "Trust the lawyers" :)
