Microsoft Internal Cross-Region Transfer Process

At a friend’s request, here’s a summary of the basic process for a cross-region transfer within Microsoft.

1. Read the company documentation
   1. Internal Movement Procedure (sharepoint.com)
   2. Internal Movement – Philosophy and Key Principles (sharepoint.com)
   3. Employee Guide for Transfers (sharepoint.com)
2. Once you understand the process, the most important thing is that a team in the target region has head count; then you can apply on the official careers site (https://careers.microsoft.com/).
   1. In my case, it was a transfer within the same big org. I went straight to the head of my org (my big boss) and asked whether I could transfer. Two months later, he pointed me to a hiring manager with head count (someone I also knew) and asked whether I’d be willing to join. I said yes, and after a chat the hiring manager welcomed me aboard. At first they said I wouldn’t need any more interviews, but later HR apparently needed interview feedback, so three people were hastily lined up to talk to me. I knew all three of them as well; we casually chatted about on-call and a few odds and ends, with no algorithm questions. After breezing through that, I got the offer.
   2. In my email to my big boss, I gave four reasons that made it hard for him to say no to my transfer. I’ll share it at the end of this post.
   3. My performance had always been pretty good — 140% two years in a row (i.e., my annual rewards came in at 140% of target). I’d also started early on building some visibility in the org. For example, I took on developing and improving some internal tools, and when people in the org emailed with questions, I’d often jump in and answer them, and so on.
3. Once you’ve interviewed and gotten the offer, plenty of teams will help you with the remaining steps. The main things to take care of are:
   1. L-1 visa: L-1A if you’re a manager, otherwise L-1B. On an L-1 you can’t change jobs in the US — you have to keep slaving away for Microsoft until you win the H-1B lottery or get a green card. The company’s immigration team will communicate with you by email. Since I was transferring to US headquarters, the work was outsourced to EY (Ernst & Young) in Canada to help me prepare the materials for the visa application. They provide a complete list of the required documents and asked me to upload all of them to Microsoft’s internal (US Immigration Portal).
   2. Since I initiated the transfer myself, I didn’t get a relocation package, so I got to skip that part. Reportedly there are usually two options: a lump sum of cash (taxable in the US), or cash plus moving services (including sea freight, a one-way flight, the first three months’ rent, a rental car, and so on).
   3. Buy your own plane ticket to the US and fly over. After you arrive, look up your I-94 online, then complete the I-9 required for onboarding. Just follow the steps in the emails from Microsoft’s immigration team.

Here’s the email I sent my big boss back then: