I worked at Microsoft for 20 years. This is exactly why and how Microsoft hired H1-B workers. It was not a secret, at least not in the Finance department. It was openly discussed. H1-B workers cost less and drove down demand for US workers, suppressing wages. Near the end of my tenor at Microsoft, however, the motivation changed - now the H1-B program was primarily used by Indian managers to bring in more Indian workers, as a way to help their fellow Indians (at the expense of Americans).

This statement from Microsoft, regarding the 6,000 H-1B visa applications this year, is wildly dishonest. I spent many years working at Microsoft in the late 90s through the early 2000’s. During that time I experienced and witnessed widespread discrimination against White employees. - Long time “rockstar” White devs were given lower review ratings (and, hence, fewer pay raises) than their Indian co-workers (who were regularly less productive). Not occasionally. This happened so often that it was the norm. - Indian managers would primarily only hire other Indian (and occasionally other Asian) applicants over White or Black applicants. Even when the White applicants were more qualified and local… and the Indian applicants required visa sponsorship, relocation costs, and extra accommodations. Again, not every now and then. This was the norm. - On one time, the Indian management at Microsoft stuffed every White, Male employee (and ONLY White, Male employees) into a small office the size of a closet… while every Indian employee (even new, entry level ones) were given their own offices. Often with fancy-shmancy views. I’ve kept in touch with many Microsoft engineers and managers… and, from everything I’ve heard from actual Microsoft employees, the situation has not improved in the slightest. It has gotten worse in many teams and Business Units. Yes, most Microsoft employees in the USA are citizens of the USA. But they are not treated equally. blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-i…