On H1B so timeline tracking is basically a survival skill for me. Went through the Microsoft SWE loop earlier this year for an L63 role. Writing up the exact timeline because I needed this information and couldn't find it.
Week 1: Recruiter reached out via LinkedIn. Responded same day. Scheduled the initial recruiter screen within 3 days.
Week 2: Recruiter phone screen, 30 min. Mostly: background, why Microsoft, what kind of teams interest you. She said she'd move me to the hiring manager screen within a week.
Week 3: Actually scheduled and had the HM screen. 45 min. Mix of technical (describe a system you built) and behavioral (conflict with cross-functional partners). She said she'd nominate me for the loop.
Week 4-5: Silence. Recruiter unresponsive for 8 days. I sent one follow-up on day 9. Turns out the hiring manager was on PTO. Got the loop scheduled for week 5.
Week 6: Onsite loop, four rounds over one day (remote). Two coding rounds, one system design, one behavioral. Felt solid going in. Did not know for 10 days.
Week 7-8: Debrief apparently took almost two weeks. Recruiter checked in once with 'still in debrief, no timeline to share.' I was going insane because of the visa situation.
Week 9: Verbal offer. Recruiter called, standard congratulations, walked through initial numbers. I asked for a week to consider.
Week 10: Sent counter. Recruiter came back in 48 hours with revised numbers. I accepted.
Week 11: Written offer letter arrived. Signed.
So total: 11 weeks from first contact to signed offer. That's fairly typical from what I've heard, though some people report 7-8 weeks and others have told me 14-15 weeks when there are hiring freeze headaches or org changes mid-loop.
Two things that make it slower: debrief getting delayed when the hiring committee has schedule conflicts, and when you're interviewing for a role that spans multiple orgs (they need more people to sign off). One thing that can speed it up: if you have a competing offer with a hard deadline, tell your recruiter. They moved my debrief timeline noticeably once I mentioned I had another exploding offer.