Bill Gates thinks i'm smart - and says so to the US Congress!

How would you feel if you were mentioned by name, by the worlds richest(3rd richest?) man in a testimony to the US congress?

Forward to 6:40

*update* Following Bill gates' speech, I was interviewed by a reporter of the Toronto Star yesterday regarding this issue. The article appeared today on their website.

Orphaned

So undergrad's team will not be able to support emnployees in Vancouver. Undergrad is thus effectively orphaned, and is now looking to be taken in by some other team which needs a PM in vancouver.

Still Waiting

The undergrad is still waiting for an answer on the vancouver option. A majority of his friends over at Microsofties2b have already received offers (special Kudos to Jenna Hall over at JobsBlog for this). But its friday again .. and nothing yet ... If anyone out there can help resolve this you''ll get loads of good karma.. and maybe a free lunch;)

O Canada ...

Just when the Undergrad had almost given up hope and moved on with Plan B ... yesterday this popped up.

from the above link:

So, what does this have to do with the US H1B visa cap? Not only will this be a full development center, but it will also be a great alternative location for some of the new hires into Microsoft who have not been able to get their H1B visas this year due to the limited quota. Since Vancouver is just a short train/car ride away, it will be easy to stay in touch.

The undergrad and his friends are excited by this prospect but still await official communication. The undergrad spent a rollicking 4 years in Canada and would be happy to go back ... Still many questions remain:

There are reports that the center will start with about 200 people and later ramp up to about 800. undergrad and friends estimate there are about 1000+ people who are h1b-less at Microsoft... Who makes the call on who goes to Vancouver? What happens to those who don't end up there?

Will it be feasible for people hired into positions requiring constant interaction such as PM to work remotely?

Hopefully these questions will be answered in the coming weeks.. still this is the best piece of news to come out of Microsoft in months - Kudos to them for taking this step...

Life is a Lottery?

Here is the Story of a 22 year old Undergrad and his mystical quest for the magical h1B...

Feb 2006 : Comp Sci Undergrad with swashbuckling people skills and good programming skills seeks job. Undergrad finds market flooded with code monkey type jobs ;) ... Undergrad keeps looking.

Mar 2006: Undergrad lands an interview with Microsoft for their program manager position. Undergrad convinces best friend (who is set to go to grad school) to also apply to Microsoft – best friend also gets an interview.

Later Mar 2006: Undergrad is hired by Microsoft into the hot new Mobile search group as a program manager. Best friend is also hired.

Undergrad can’t believe his luck: A job that plays to his strengths, with an awesome fast-growing group, that pays well, with Microsoft taking care of relocation, with best friend along for the ride and in picturesque Seattle. Now all he needs is a nice girlfriend and he's set...

June, 2006: Undergrad says no to a couple of Canadian jobs and goes back home to India for a short vacation. Undergrad is informed that the application filed on his behalf for the H1B visa didn’t make it in time for the May 26th cut-off. Undergrad is told to hang on. Undergrad is happy that Microsoft keeps his position open for him but worried about how long he may need to wait. Undergrad forms online group for other people in his situation.

April 2007: Almost a whole year has gone by and our undergrad is still where he was last April. It is time to apply for H1B visas again. Undergrad learns that H1B visas are being assigned by a random lottery system this year - for the first time in history.

June 2007: After a fun two months spent checking his email every 7 minutes, the Undergrad is informed he has lost random lottery. Microsoft promises to get back by end of June with solutions.

Undergrad feels:

Today: The Undergrad, in a bid to lift his mood, watches episodes of 'Scrubs' (its funny and he feels glad that at least *he* doesn't have "Acquired Childhood Aphasia with Convulsive Disorder"!). But then an ad comes on proclaiming the sheer coolness of the new "Hutch GPRS phone with Windows Live Search built in"... our Undergrad ends up oscillating between:

Undergrad gets pep talk from best friend who has now been working at Microsoft for a year. Undergrad starts to pick up the pieces by examining his options:

1. See what Microsoft comes up with – Undergrad's most preferred option is to work at the windows live search for mobile group in India until the situation can be sorted out. But current talk on online group suggests, he should expect his current offer to be withdrawn.
   
2. Apply to other places (Google India, Ebay India etc).
3. Do his own Web 2.0 Startup.
   

The Background:

The Undergrad: an International student from India, completed his double major in Comp Sci and Economics from the University of Toronto, Canada. He can no longer go back and work in Canada easily due to work permit issues. [learn more about the Undergrad by perusing his Resume.]

The Magical H1B : The visa required for non US citizens to work as skilled workers in the US. The US gives out only 65000 of these every year. You can apply as early as April to get an H1B that comes into effect in October – the start of the fiscal year. This year the USCIS (the immigration dept) received about 133,000 H1B applications on the first two days – far exceeding their 65000 quota. So, for the first time in US history, they held a random lottery. And only the winners of this lottery get their applications processed. *FUN*!